Microsoft co founder Bill Gates told members of the US Congress that late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appeared to be moving towards blackmailing him by exploiting knowledge of his extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of a closed door congressional hearing.
While Gates maintained that he was never blackmailed, he said emails released as part of the Epstein case suggested the disgraced financier was considering that course of action.
“I was not blackmailed, but as you look at these emails, it looks like Mr Epstein’s brainstorming was going in that direction,” Gates said, referring to documents released by the US Department of Justice in January.
Gates told lawmakers that Epstein used what he described as “veiled” language in an apparent attempt to pressure him into restoring contact.
“There was the veiled type of language, ‘Hey, we should all want to be friends,'” Gates recalled.
He said he made it clear to Epstein that any attempt to extract money or influence him through personal information would fail.
“I took that on very explicitly and said, look, if you think you’re going to get more money out of this, it’s not going to happen. And if that means you go out and talk to people about things, I will just bear the pain of that and deal with it,” Gates said.
The Microsoft co founder has previously acknowledged having multiple extramarital affairs during his marriage to Melinda French Gates, saying those relationships contributed to the couple’s divorce after 27 years together.
However, Gates stressed before Congress that those affairs were unrelated to his interactions with Epstein.
“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family. As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities, in addition to many lies that he layered on top, to pressure me to re engage with him,” the transcript quoted Gates as saying.
Gates says he met Epstein 12 to 14 times
During his testimony, Gates said he met Epstein between 12 and 14 times over a four year period and also had two Skype calls with him.
According to Gates, their relationship began in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to charges related to soliciting prostitution involving minors.
Gates’ name has appeared thousands of times in documents linked to the Epstein investigation. He has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing and has repeatedly said he never witnessed any crimes, though he acknowledged he “may have been in the presence of victims.”
