Bill Gates will be heard on June 10 by a commission of the US Congress investigating the Epstein case, AFP learned on Tuesday from a source close to the matter, confirming information from Politico. The billionaire and Microsoft co-founder will appear for a closed-door interview before this House of Representatives commission, which wants to question him about his past ties to the sex offender.
When contacted by AFP, the Gates Foundation did not immediately respond. But according to a spokesperson for the billionaire, cited by Politico, Bill Gates “welcomes” the opportunity to appear before the commission. “While he never attended or was involved in any illegal acts related to Epstein, he is looking forward to answering the commission’s questions to support this important work,” the spokesperson added.
In late February, Bill Gates had stated that his connections with Jeffrey Epstein were a “huge mistake,” admitting to members of his foundation that he had extramarital relations with two Russian women but denying any involvement in the actions of the American financier, who died in prison in 2019 before facing trial for sex crimes. “It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and to invite foundation leaders to meetings with him, he said to foundation members, according to an audio recording obtained by the Wall Street Journal. “I didn’t do anything illegal. I didn’t see anything illegal,” Bill Gates also stated.
According to him, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein began in 2011, three years after the former financier pleaded guilty to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution. A draft email from Jeffrey Epstein, released by the US Department of Justice in a mass of documents from the same case file, mentions Bill Gates’ extramarital relations. In this message, which does not appear to have been sent, Jeffrey Epstein boasted of helping “Bill” obtain medications to “deal with the consequences of sexual relations with Russian girls.”
Simply mentioning a person’s name in the Epstein case does not imply any wrongdoing on their part. But these documents show at the very least links between the sex offender or his circle and certain individuals who have often downplayed or denied the existence of such relationships.
