Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates claimed Wednesday disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein attempted to use information about his personal life — including his multiple marriage infidelities — to blackmail him, copies of his first closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee detail.
He also claimed no knowledge of any of Epstein’s actions and refuted any and all other accusations he was somehow complicit in the late paedophiles actions.
Documents from the Epstein files, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, included email exchanges between Epstein and Gates along with photographs of the smiling billionaire willingly joining events attended by the financier.
As Breitbart News reported, the release of the files included a 2013 email from the disgraced financier and sex predator to himself about Gates in which Epstein claims the Microsoft co-founder caught an STD after “sex with Russians girls” and wanted to slip antibiotics to his wife instead of telling her.
Gates responded to the emails through his spokesperson at the time, who insisted, “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false.”
More denials came Wednesday as lawmakers probed Gates on just how plausible it is that he – one of the titans of the information sphere – would have remained largely incurious about the details of Epstein’s background, including facts that were already in the public domain.
“I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated,” Gates, a leftist icon of environmentalism and health philanthropy, pleaded per his prepared remarks as seen and reported by CNN.
“I learned Epstein 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.”
After hours of testimony, the 70-year-old left and plowed his way out through a throng of reporters and protesters.
He ignored shouted questions from members of the media, but later said in a statement that he “appreciated the opportunity to meet with the House Oversight Committee today and to answer all of their questions.”
“I support the release of all the files and hope my participation contributes to getting justice for the victims,” Gates continued.
Gates joins former President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other powerful figures who have appeared before the bipartisan committee.
Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison term, appeared virtually in February but invoked her right to refuse to answer questions.
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and was found dead in his prison cell in August that year.