Tech mogul Bill Gates expressed remorse for his association with Jeffrey Epstein during his closed-door interview Wednesday with the House Oversight Committee. But lawmakers are unsure if his contrition will — or should — be enough to prevent irreconcilable damage to his reputation and standing as a leading innovator and philanthropist.
The Microsoft founder and global health champion made his case to committee members as part of their ongoing investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide behind bars in 2019, and the people who might have helped carry out his crimes. Over the course of hours, Gates insisted he did not know about Epstein’s misdeeds and that he never witnessed or took part in the late financier’s criminal behavior.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said Gates described his relationship with Epstein inside the room as a “means” to support his work of pouring massive amounts of money into humanitarian causes around the world.
“He admitted that he knew of Mr. Epstein’s reputation,” she told reporters during a break in the proceedings. “He admitted that he knew that he had been convicted of [sex] crimes. But ultimately, in his words, he viewed this narrow relationship as being an acceptable means to access wealthy donors.”
Gates’ own self-professed “grave error in judgment” has cost him goodwill in Washington and beyond as a leading tech and energy figure and a benevolent humanitarian. Oversight Committee members are conflicted, however, about whether they should accept Gates’ retelling of a transactional, if morally compromised, relationship, while so many other individuals found to have been in Epstein’s orbit have been unable to recover their reputations.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, for instance, was forced to resign from Harvard, while Brad Karp stepped down from chairing the major law firm Paul, Weiss.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, told reporters that members of the panel would protect no one found implicated in Epstein’s misdeeds: “We have said we want to talk to anyone. We don’t care if they’re a Republican, Democrat — how wealthy they are.”
Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), a member of the Oversight panel, highlighted the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives saved by Gates’ contributions.
He said he “deeply, deeply admires [Gates’] commitment to global health and to philanthropy.” But he also noted, “that reality coexists with the reality that he made some terrible, terrible mistakes in engaging with Jeffrey Epstein. … People will have to judge whether one outweighs the other.”
“In my mind,” Walkinshaw said, “those two realities and facts exist. I can’t reconcile them.”
Gates drew scrutiny for appearances in the so-called Epstein files released by the dead sex trafficker’s estate and by the Justice Department, including pictures showing him standing next to women whose identities are unknown. Gates has said he posed with the women — whom he described as Epstein employees — because Epstein asked him to.
In one email released by the Justice Department, Epstein appears to allege that he helped obtain medicine for Gates to treat a sexually transmitted infection.
“As Mr. Gates has consistently stated, and reiterated to the House Oversight Committee, he never witnessed nor had any indication of Epstein’s ongoing criminal conduct. He never visited Epstein’s island, his ranch, or Florida home, and has never victimized anyone,” a Gates spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.
“When asked about photos in which he appeared with women in Epstein’s orbit, Mr. Gates noted that none of them participated in his meetings with Epstein — they were not introduced to him by name or role and had no substantive interaction with him beyond being asked by Epstein to stand for a photograph,” the spokesperson continued. “Mr. Gates expressed sadness for the suffering endured by anyone harmed by Epstein’s crimes.”
But the evidence in the Epstein files was enough to prompt members of the Oversight Committee to express interest in interviewing Gates along with others featured in the trove, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the billionaire businessman Les Wexner.
On Wednesday, Gates recalled interacting with Epstein in the 2010s in hopes of using Epstein’s connections to support his philanthropy in public health, according to the prepared remarks published on Gates’ website. When it became clear that the potential donors connected to Epstein were uninterested in providing funding, Gates told lawmakers he cut Epstein off. Then, Gates contended, Epstein tried to use knowledge of Gates’ affairs to “pressure [Gates] to re-engage with him.”
Lawmakers did note that Gates has been cooperative and that he gave the committee some interesting names. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) told reporters that Gates had provided the names of individuals in Epstein’s circle who helped facilitate connections with Gates or his foundation.
Expanding the universe of people within Gates’ network who might have had ties to Epstein could further complicate the billionaire philanthropist’s legacy. So far, humanitarian groups are sticking with him and the Gates Foundation, the largest private provider of global health funding. These partnerships have become even more crucial after the Trump administration last year slashed billions in global health and foreign aid funds, leaving many U.S.-based and international health organizations struggling.
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) noted that Gates, who appeared before lawmakers voluntarily rather than under the force of a subpoena, answered every question. He said he thanked Gates for coming in and for his philanthropy.
“He regretted his brief relationship with Epstein — that’s kind of a recurring theme,” Comer said, while adding that is “just what everybody says.”
Following his transcribed interview, Gates released a statement saying he “appreciated the opportunity to meet with the House Oversight Committee.”
He added that he “support[s] the release of all the files and hope my participation contributes to getting justice for the victims.”
Carmen Paun contributed to this report.
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