Gates gives committee testimony on Epstein meeting
Tech billionaire tells lawmakers meeting Epstein was a ‘grave error in judgment’
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bill Gates said Wednesday that he made a "grave error in judgment" by ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein as the Microsoft co-founder faced questions behind closed doors from lawmakers about his relationship with the disgraced financier.
In an opening statement provided to The Associated Press, Gates said he "should never have met with Epstein in the first place," but that he "never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct."
The tech billionaire became the latest powerful figure linked to Epstein to testify before the House Oversight Committee. As Gates arrived at the Capitol, he noted that he was there voluntarily and said he hoped his testimony would be useful.
"I hope my testimony is helpful to the work, the important work, of the committee, to find justice for the victims," he said.
The committee chairman, Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer, formally requested that Gates testify after he appeared multiple times in a trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe. Before the interview on Wednesday, Comer told reporters that "no one's accusing Bill Gates of any wrongdoing."
"This is about the survivors" of Epstein and his confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. "This is about trying to figure out how the government failed," Comer said.
The remarks come as lawmakers review documents detailing Gates' interactions with Epstein. Included in the files are calendar entries for meetings between Gates and Epstein, email correspondence between the two about philanthropic projects and photos of Gates at events that Epstein also attended.