Bill Gates has told US members of Congress that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sought to blackmail him over his extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of the Microsoft founder's testimony. Gates testified behind closed doors before the House oversight committee on 10 June regarding his friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex crimes.
In the transcript released by the committee on Tuesday, Gates spoke of 'veiled' threats and said Epstein had considered exploiting his knowledge of Gates's extramarital affairs to force him to remain in his orbit. 'I was not blackmailed, but you know, as you look at these emails, it looks like Mr Epstein's brainstorming was going in that direction,' Gates said, referring to documents from the Epstein case released in January by the US Department of Justice.
Gates added that Epstein never sent him anything he would call blackmail, but draft emails suggested Epstein 'was sort of rehearsing how either he or he, coaching someone else, might choose to blackmail me'. Gates, 70, released his opening remarks on the day of the testimony, stating he had never been aware of Epstein's criminal behaviour and had 'never victimized anyone'.
In late February, Gates told the Wall Street Journal that his ties to Epstein were a major mistake and admitted to having extramarital affairs with two Russian women but denied any involvement with the financier's activities. Gates claims his relationship with Epstein began in 2011, three years after the latter pleaded guilty to prostitution charges involving minors.
He acknowledged knowing of Epstein's legal troubles but was also told that Epstein could raise billions of dollars for global health. 'I knew that it [the Epstein conviction] was of a sexual nature, but, no, I don't think I knew – dug into the specifics, although I probably should have,' Gates said.
