Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Wednesday morning expressed deep regret about ever associating with the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as he began testifying behind closed doors to a House panel, according to an opening statement that the billionaire posted online.
Gates, 70, denied witnessing any criminal conduct by Epstein and also denied victimizing anyone himself in his testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Gates’ testimony comes a day after the committee questioned Epstein’s former longtime executive assistant, Lesley Groff. A transcript of his testimony is expected to be released in the next several days.
He walked out of the interview at around 3:50 p.m. ET without speaking to a group of reporters.
Gates said he first met with Epstein in 2011 — three years after the predator pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution — as part of an effort to raise money for his philanthropic Gates Foundation and its global health work.
But that never resulted in any donations, according to Gates. And he said that Epstein later tried to use information about Gates’ cheating on his then-wife, Melinda Gates, as leverage to win his way back into an association with Gates.
“I should never have met with Epstein in the first place,” Gates said.
“Based on what I know now, I understand that even if he had delivered the new donors he promised, it would not have justified associating with him.”
“I want to state very clearly: I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct,” said Gates, who has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
“I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone,” Gates said. “While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated.”
The billionaire noted that his association with Epstein had imperiled the work of the Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic foundations, with a reported endowment of more than $70 billion.
“In the work I do, reputation is the basis for developing partnerships that save lives,” Gates said. “Meeting with Epstein was a grave error in judgement and put this work at risk.”
“His behavior was antithetical to all my efforts to contribute to a world where everyone has a chance to live a healthy and productive life.”
“I see now that he sought to build an image of legitimacy around himself, using connections to reputable and powerful people to deflect scrutiny and attempt to rehabilitate his reputation,” Gates said.
“I was so focused on the possibility of raising funds for global health that I allowed that goal to override my better judgment. That is a sobering realization, and it has reinforced for me the importance of being more attentive to how access and reputation can be manipulated by people acting in bad faith.”
Gates is the latest in a series of high-profile people who…
Read More: Bill Gates interviewed about Jeffrey Epstein by House Oversight
