Bill Gates reveals Epstein used blackmail threats about his personal life
Photo: billionaire Bill Gates (Getty Images)
On June 10, Bill Gates gave closed-door testimony during which he said that during his contacts with Epstein, he did not fully understand the extent of his crimes.
“I did not fully understand the scale of Epstein’s crimes,” he said, adding that he had never witnessed any illegal activity on his part.
At the same time, the billionaire said that after their acquaintance, Epstein tried to use information about his extramarital affairs to pressure him.
“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,” Gates said in his testimony.
According to the businessman, these attempts were unsuccessful.
What Congress is investigating
The hearings took place as part of a broader investigation into how the U.S. Department of Justice handled cases involving Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Committee Chairman James Comer invited Gates to provide explanations after new documents about his contacts with Epstein emerged. According to case materials, after serving his sentence in 2008, the financier repeatedly met with Gates to discuss philanthropic projects.
The billionaire himself has previously acknowledged that his contacts with the convicted criminal were a mistake and explained them as attempts to secure additional funding for global humanitarian programs.
The Epstein case
In 2008, Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in a case involving prostitution of a minor and served 13 months in prison. In 2019, he faced new charges of trafficking minors for sexual exploitation, but he did not admit guilt.
Before the trial began, Epstein died in prison, and his death was officially ruled a suicide.
It should be noted that the name of U.S. President Donald Trump has also repeatedly appeared in materials related to the Epstein investigation. Declassified documents from the U.S. Department of Justice mentioned, among other things, Trump’s acquaintance with a 14-year-old girl at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
