US billionaire Bill Gates testified that he never interacted with any of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims but acknowledged that he may have been in their presence, according to a transcript of his closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee released on Tuesday.
The Microsoft co-founder maintained during the voluntary interview, which took place on Capitol Hill earlier this month, that his three-year relationship with the convicted sex offender was strictly professional and that he neither witnessed nor participated in any sexual misconduct.
However, a lawmaker noted that the committee’s investigation had revealed that some of Epstein’s employees were also victims of abuse by the late financier, making it difficult for Gates to categorically rule out ever being around any of Epstein’s victims.
Gates acknowledged seeing some of Epstein’s female employees at the end of a meeting aboard one of Epstein’s planes, adding that he may have been in the presence of victims.
As part of the Oversight Committee’s ongoing investigation, lawmakers sought Gates’ testimony after the release of additional Epstein-related files by the Justice Department earlier this year raised fresh questions about his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
The committee also released the transcript of Epstein’s longtime assistant, Lesley Groff, who described her former boss as a master manipulator and said she had no knowledge of his crimes.
Groff revealed that she connected Epstein and Donald Trump, then a private citizen, by phone on multiple occasions over a ten-year period, though she said she was unaware of the content of those conversations. Trump has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct.
During his interview, Gates detailed how Epstein allegedly attempted to use information about the Microsoft co-founder’s personal life — including his infidelity during marriage — to exert pressure on him. After cutting ties with Epstein in 2014, Gates recalled an instance in which Epstein emailed him seeking reimbursement for expenses related to a woman with whom Gates had an affair.
Gates testified that he instructed Larry Cohen, a senior executive at Gates Ventures, that they would not make any payment to Epstein.
Gates said he was introduced to Epstein in 2011 through one of his employees, Dr. Boris Nikolic, whom he believes may have told Epstein about two of his extramarital affairs. Investigators also questioned Gates about other possible affairs, arguing that such information was relevant in determining whether he had additional connections to Epstein.
Gates and his legal team pushed back against the line of questioning. The tech billionaire pointed to draft emails that Epstein appeared to have written to himself in 2013, containing a series of graphic and unverified allegations about Gates. He argued that if other affairs existed, Epstein likely would have mentioned them in those notes.
In the documents, which Gates has described as false, Epstein appeared to claim that he facilitated sexual encounters for Gates and helped him obtain medication to conceal a sexually transmitted infection from his wife.
During the interview, Gates denied ever having had a sexually transmitted disease but acknowledged that he may have told Nikolic he was concerned he might have contracted one.
Gates said that when he first met Epstein in 2011, he was aware that the financier had a prior conviction for a sex-related offense. Nevertheless, he pursued a professional relationship because Epstein claimed he could help raise billions of dollars for global health initiatives.
To this day, Gates said he regrets overlooking Epstein’s reputation in pursuit of a philanthropic opportunity that ultimately never materialized. Although Epstein repeatedly invited him to visit his private island and attend social gatherings, Gates said he consciously avoided crossing that line because of Epstein’s criminal history.
He added that he remains puzzled by how Epstein amassed his wealth and described Epstein’s New York City residence as one of the most spacious homes he had ever seen in Manhattan.
Gates also testified that he voluntarily cooperated with the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands by participating in an interview and providing financial documents.
Meanwhile, Groff remains one of the most prominent members of Epstein’s inner circle to testify before Congress as part of its investigation.
As Epstein’s longtime assistant, she helped manage many aspects of his life, including scheduling massages, arranging meetings with women, and coordinating appointments with influential individuals, according to records contained in millions of Justice Department files related to Epstein.
Her claim that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct was met with immediate criticism from survivors.
Groff testified that she believed everyone she scheduled for Epstein’s massages was a licensed massage therapist and viewed them as independent contractors. She said she stopped regularly arranging massage appointments for Epstein in 2008, when he served about a year in a Florida jail.
Lawmakers challenged that assertion by citing records showing that Groff continued to schedule certain appointments for Epstein after 2008.
Defending her actions, Groff told lawmakers that even when she booked appointments after Epstein’s incarceration, she would not necessarily have known they involved massages.
Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team
Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team is the team responsible for researching, writing, editing, and publishing news and feature content on Julian Daily Gist. Our coverage includes Nigerian current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, health, business, and human-interest stories. We aim to provide readers with timely, accurate, and responsibly sourced information.
The Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team researches, writes, edits, and publishes news and feature content covering Nigerian current affairs, entertainment, sports, health, business, lifestyle, and human-interest stories.
We aim to provide accurate, timely, and responsibly sourced information and update our reports when credible new information becomes available.
The Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team is responsible for researching, writing, editing, and publishing content across Julian Daily Gist.
Our coverage includes Nigerian current affairs, politics, business, entertainment, sports, health, lifestyle, and human-interest stories.
We aim to provide readers with timely, accurate, useful, and responsibly sourced information. Our team makes reasonable efforts to verify important information, identify sources, distinguish allegations from confirmed facts, and update reports when credible new information becomes available.
We also believe in transparency and accountability. Readers can contact our editorial team to report factual errors, request corrections, or provide additional information relevant to a published story.
Editorial focus: News, current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, health, business, and human-interest stories.
Team BIo:
The Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team is responsible for researching, writing, editing, and publishing content across Julian Daily Gist.
Our coverage includes Nigerian current affairs, politics, business, entertainment, sports, health, lifestyle, and human-interest stories.
We aim to provide readers with timely, accurate, useful, and responsibly sourced information. Our team makes reasonable efforts to verify important information, identify sources, distinguish allegations from confirmed facts, and update reports when credible new information becomes available.
We also believe in transparency and accountability. Readers can contact our editorial team to report factual errors, request corrections, or provide additional information relevant to a published story.
Editorial focus: News, current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, health, business, and human-interest stories.
Editorial Policy:
At Julian Daily Gist, our goal is to provide readers with timely, useful, accurate, and responsibly presented news and information.
We cover Nigerian current affairs, politics, business, entertainment, sports, health, lifestyle, human-interest stories, and other topics of interest to our readers.
1. Accuracy and Verification
We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information published on Julian Daily Gist is accurate and presented in its proper context.
Before publishing a report, our editorial team makes reasonable efforts to:
- Check information against credible sources.
- Verify names, dates, locations, figures, and other important details.
- Attribute information to the appropriate source.
- Distinguish confirmed facts from allegations, claims, opinions, and speculation.
- Update stories when credible new information becomes available.
When information cannot be independently verified, we make this clear to readers rather than presenting it as established fact.
2. Sources
We use a range of sources, including:
- Official government statements.
- Police and security agencies.
- Courts and legal documents.
- Government agencies.
- Direct interviews and statements.
- Reputable news organizations.
- Publicly available records.
- Verified social media accounts and statements.
When an article relies substantially on information reported by another publication, we aim to clearly attribute the information to that source.
We do not intentionally present another publication's reporting as our own.
3. Originality
Julian Daily Gist aims to provide original editorial value.
When we report information that has already been published elsewhere, we seek to add value through original writing, context, verification, analysis, additional information, or other useful material.
We do not intentionally copy and republish articles from other websites without appropriate attribution and meaningful editorial contribution.
4. Allegations and Sensitive Claims
When reporting allegations involving individuals or organizations, we make reasonable efforts to clearly identify allegations as allegations.
We avoid presenting unproven accusations as established facts.
Where relevant, we seek or include responses from the person, organization, or representative concerned.
For criminal matters, we recognize that an allegation, arrest, charge, or accusation does not by itself establish guilt.
5. Headlines
Our headlines are intended to accurately reflect the content of our articles.
We aim to avoid deliberately misleading headlines, fabricated claims, or headlines that exaggerate facts simply to generate clicks.
6. Corrections and Updates
We take corrections seriously.
If we discover that an article contains a significant factual error, we may correct or update the article as appropriate.
Readers who identify an error are encouraged to contact us with specific information supporting the correction.
Where appropriate, significant corrections or updates may be noted within the article.
7. Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are made independently of advertisers, sponsors, commercial partners, and other external interests.
Advertising or sponsorship does not automatically influence our editorial decisions or the opinions expressed by our writers.
8. Sponsored and Promotional Content
Where Julian Daily Gist publishes sponsored, paid, or promotional content, we aim to clearly identify it as such.
Sponsored content does not necessarily represent the independent editorial views of Julian Daily Gist.
9. Conflicts of Interest
Our editorial team should avoid situations where personal, financial, or other interests could improperly influence reporting.
Where a relevant conflict of interest exists, we aim to disclose it when appropriate.
10. Use of Images and Other Media
We aim to use images, videos, graphics, and other media responsibly and with appropriate permission, licensing, attribution, or other lawful basis where required.
We do not knowingly use copyrighted material in a manner that infringes the rights of its owner.
If you believe that material published on Julian Daily Gist infringes your copyright, please contact us so that we can review the matter.
11. Artificial Intelligence
We may use technology and artificial intelligence tools to assist with certain editorial tasks, such as research support, proofreading, formatting, transcription, or drafting assistance.
However, AI-generated information is not treated as automatically accurate. Content remains subject to human review, editing, fact-checking, and editorial judgment before publication where appropriate.
We do not intentionally publish fabricated information generated by AI.
12. Privacy and Personal Information
We take reasonable care when handling personal information and avoid publishing unnecessary private information about individuals.
Sensitive personal information is published only when there is a legitimate public-interest reason and where appropriate.
Our handling of visitor information is explained in our Privacy Policy.
13. Opinion and Commentary
Opinion articles and commentary represent the views expressed by the respective writer or contributor.
Where appropriate, opinion content will be identified as commentary, analysis, or opinion so that readers can distinguish it from straightforward news reporting.
14. User-Generated Content
Comments and other material submitted by readers may be moderated.
We reserve the right to remove content that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive, discriminatory, misleading, threatening, spam-related, or otherwise inappropriate.
User comments do not necessarily represent the views of Julian Daily Gist.
15. Our Commitment
We are committed to improving the quality, accuracy, transparency, and usefulness of Julian Daily Gist.
As our publication grows, we will continue reviewing our editorial practices and updating this policy when necessary.
16. Contact and Corrections
If you have a correction, clarification, complaint, copyright concern, or question about our editorial practices, please contact us through our Contact Us page.
