The lawyer who led an investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity has been tapped to advise Bill Gates ahead of his congressional grilling, a new report alleges.
Sources tell The New York Times that Gates has hired Jake Greenberg to advise him ahead of his showdown with the House Ethics Committee on Wednesday—an appearance in which he will be questioned about his seemingly cozy relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The appointment has raised eyebrows, according to the Times, because Greenberg is a former top investigative counsel to the House Ethics Committee, having worked alongside lawmakers as recently as December.
It is unclear how long Gates has worked with Greenberg, nor how much the lawyer is being paid by Gates, who Forbes estimates is worth $104 billion.
Greenberg is an ally of Republican Rep. James Comer, who is the committee’s chairman. On the DLA Piper website, the prestigious firm where Greenberg now works, Comer is quoted as saying that he “proved to be one of Washington’s most capable oversight investigators.”
The arrangement between Greenberg and Gates is perfectly legal—but some experts have raised concerns about a conflict of interest. Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, the interim vice president of policy and government affairs at Project on Government Oversight, said as such to the Times.
“Hearings are supposed to be serious attempts at fact-finding,” he said. “You would want a process that is free of any sort of conflicts of interest or influence peddling. There’s a lot of using the position you used to have, the leverage and the juice you bring, using that to benefit whoever you’re working for and tilt the playing field.”
The Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the Times’ report, a Gates Ventures did not respond to multiple requests for comment, while Mr. Greenberg also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Among the tasks Greenberg spearheaded was probing Biden administration officials about the ex-president’s mental acuity—something that Comer was especially keen to investigate. The Times reports that he led the transcription of the depositions of top Biden administration officials, including Annie Tomasini and former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Gates is expected to be grilled on being a close associate of Epstein, with one Democrat telling the Times that his wealth cannot shield him from accountability.
“We need accountability for those in power and answers for survivors,” said Rep. Yassamin Ansari. “No one—regardless of power, political party or wealth—is above justice.”
Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said he wants to uncover what Gates “knew of Epstein’s crimes, and the nature and extent of their relationship.”
He added to the Times, “Epstein was known for befriending and even blackmailing rich and powerful men, and I want to know if Gates was one of them.”
Greenberg is not the only power player reportedly on Gates’ payroll. He has also hired the former DOJ lawyer John Moran, who reportedly helped him secure an agreement with the committee to appear off-camera—unlike Bill and Hillary Clinton, whose depositions were recorded.
