Bill Gates indicated that Jeffrey Epstein used knowledge about his cheating on his wife as leverage in their friendship.
The billionaire made the claim when he appeared for a grilling on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
The Microsoft co-founder came for questioning behind closed doors before the House Oversight Committee as part of their probe into Epstein after his association with the disgraced financier surfaced in the released Epstein files.
Gates indicated in his opening remarks that the convicted sex offender tried to use the Microsoft founder’s infidelity to his advantage, in the same way that Epstein would use blackmail against others around him.
In his prepared opening statement, the billionaire said that he became aware that the convicted sex offender had “become aware of sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage.
“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family. As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities—in addition to many lies that he layered on top—to pressure me to re-engage with him," he said in the statement.
‘He was unsuccessful in this effort, but it shows some of the ways he tried to leverage his interaction with me to further his agenda,” Gates continued.
Gates briefly spoke to reporters on Wednesday before entering the closed-door session, where he noted he would begin his appearance with an opening statement and said that he hoped his testimony would be helpful to the work of the committee “to find justice for the victims.”
He did not answer any reporters’ questions as he proceeded down the hallway.
Despite Gates emphasizing that he was appearing voluntarily, in comments to reporters outside while the grilling was still underway, Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi characterized him as “not terribly forthcoming or candid” and even said he was “a little combative.”
In his prepared remarks, Gates also said he had never witnessed or had any indication that Epstein was engaging in ongoing criminal conduct. The tech mogul said he never went to the pedophile’s island, ranch or Florida home.
He also said multiple times during the grilling that he never witnessed abuse, according to the members in the room.
Democrats noted that Gates’ relationship with Epstein began after he was already convicted of soliciting prostitution with a minor.
Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee told reporters that Gates admitted he knew Epstein was convicted of sex crimes, but he saw the relationship as a means to potentially get wealthy donors to give to his global health work.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam characterized Gates’s description of the relationship as a “ticket to getting more money to his foundation.”
Democrats noted that Gates named a few people invovled with his foundation who they would now like to speak with or others whose names have come up before.
Gates also claimed, according to Democrats, that he believed Epstein would write emails to himself that he knew were not true.
In an unsent Epstein email to Gates from 2013 included in the files, the convicted sex offender claimed the tech billionaire caught an STD from Russian girls and requested that antibiotics be secretly given to his then-wife Melinda.
Gates has previously denied the claims in the draft email as “false.”
