Bill Gates set to face US Congress questioning over Epstein ties

Bill Gates is set to face questioning on Wednesday from US lawmakers over his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose network of wealthy and influential associates has fueled years of public scrutiny and conspiracy theories, News.Az reports, citing AFP.

Gates, one of the world’s richest individuals and a prominent philanthropist, was due to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview concerning the disgraced financier, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.

The committee requested Gates’ appearance after documents released by the United States Department of Justice raised new questions about his contacts with Epstein.

Several other high-profile figures have previously appeared before the panel, including Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

A spokesperson for Gates told AFP in a statement that the billionaire welcomed the opportunity to appear before the committee and emphasized that he had “never witnessed or participated in Epstein’s illegal conduct.”

The Epstein files include a 2013 draft email in which Epstein appeared to suggest he had helped Gates manage the fallout from extramarital affairs, including by seeking antibiotics after a sexually transmitted infection.

Gates has called the email fake and denied the allegations. He told Australian television in February that he had been “foolish” to associate with Epstein, but said his relationship with him had nothing to do with Epstein’s criminal activities.

“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize that I did that… It’s factually true that I was only at dinners. I never went to (his) island, I never met any women,” he said.

He added that simply appearing in Epstein-related documents does not constitute evidence of any crime.

Gates told his foundation staff that he had affairs with two Russian women, according to reporting by the The Wall Street Journal, but he denied spending time with Epstein’s victims. He said his association with Epstein began in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Gates reportedly acknowledged that his then-wife Melinda French Gates raised concerns about Epstein in 2013, but that he continued the association for at least another year.

Melinda French Gates, who divorced the Microsoft co-founder in 2021, has said that remaining questions about the relationship are for her ex-husband and others to answer.

The House Oversight Committee has been investigating Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a broader review of how the government handled the case and what information has been released from its files.

Donald Trump, who also had a long-standing relationship with Epstein, initially opposed releasing the files, prompting accusations of a cover-up that followed him into his first year back in office.

Democrats say they intend to question what Gates knew about Epstein’s crimes and the full nature of their relationship.

The interview will not be videotaped, unlike several other committee interviews that were later made public.

US media reported that Gates has hired former Justice Department lawyer John Moran and received preparation from Jake Greenberg, a former senior Oversight Committee investigator. Ethics experts said the move raised questions about optics, but did not necessarily violate any rules.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev