Bill Gates entered the Washington courtroom to answer questions about his past association with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019.
He said he was proud to take any opportunity to help the committee uncover the truth and that his own testimony would aid justice for victims.
The photo that surfaced from the Justice Department’s data dump showed Gates standing near a private aircraft with Epstein’s pilot. Other images portrayed Gates with Epstein and, at times, other unidentified women.
Documents contain draft email exchanges that allege Epstein orchestrated “illicit trysts” involving Gates, claimed he acquired a sexually transmitted infection from “Russian girls” and supposedly supplied drugs to Gates. Gates denies all allegations but admits to affairs with two Russian women.
The committee will focus on three main questions:
1. Why did Gates become acquainted with a man who was already a convicted sex offender?
President calls out Gates for continuing contact after Epstein’s crimes were public and asks whether he understood the danger of associating with him.
2. Why did Gates not investigate Epstein’s past more thoroughly?
Gates had noted Epstein’s “18‑month” restriction but claimed he did not fully check his background. Lawmakers will probe whether a tech billionaire should have been more cautious.
3. Did Epstein attempt to influence, or did Gates intend to influence, the other?
The committee believes that the private tunnel of influence could have delivered networking opportunities, and will ask whether Epstein sought to leverage Gates for philanthropic gain or disguisingly blackmail him.
Gates says the two first met in 2011 when he was pursuing philanthropic collaborations; in 2014, after Epstein’s past was revealed, the foundation still engaged a small number of staff seeking potential funding, which ultimately did not materialise.
In a staff meeting, the Gates Foundation acknowledged any interaction with Epstein should be regretted, and no grant from Epstein was created.
The central issue for the committee will be why Gates invested significant time with someone who failed to deliver philanthropic opportunities or who may have tried to manipulate him.
