Bill Gates Says Epstein Tried To Use His Extramarital Affairs Against Him
Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist, told a congressional committee on Wednesday that the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein exploited information about his extramarital affairs “to pressure me to re-engage with him” after Mr.Gates had begun to sever ties with him.Mr.
Gates made his comment in an opening statement to the House Oversight Committee, which asked him questions about his dealings with Mr.Epstein at a closed-door hearing.
The committee has been investigating the Justice Department’s handling of its investigations into Mr.Epstein and those associated with him.A representative for Mr.
Gates released a copy of his statement on Wednesday ahead of the hearing, which was expected to last for four hours.In his statement, Mr.Gates repeated his prior comments that he regretted having anything to do with Mr.
Epstein but had never seen him engage in any “criminal conduct.” Mr.Gates also said that he had “never victimized anyone.”Revelations about Mr.
Gates’s interactions with Mr.Epstein began to surface not long after Mr.
Epstein was arrested by federal authorities in 2019 on sex trafficking charges.The revelations have tarnished Mr.
Gates’s reputation, contributed to the erosion of his marriage and prompted his charitable foundation this year to authorize an external review of his ties to Mr.Epstein.“In the work I do, reputation is the basis for developing partnerships that save lives.
Meeting with Epstein was a grave error in judgment and put this work at risk,” Mr.Gates said in his statement.
“His behavior was antithetical to all my efforts to contribute to a world where everyone has a chance to live a healthy and productive life.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patien...