Bill Gates to testify before House committee over Epstein ties

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is slated to appear before the House Oversight Committee in the coming weeks while the panel continues its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to multiple reports.

Mr. Gates will testify for a transcribed interview on June 10, following a March 3 letter from the committee requesting his testimony.

A spokesperson for him said he “welcomes the opportunity to appear before the committee.”

“While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Mr. Gates is among the rich and powerful who have faced scrutiny over ties to the deceased and disgraced financier, after the Justice Department’s Epstein files were released to the public.

Committee Chair James Comer, Kentucky Republican, said in the letter to Mr. Gates that due to public reporting, the Justice Department’s records and documents obtained by the committee, the panel “believes you have information that will assist in its investigation.”

Two emails in particular show that Epstein corresponded with Mr. Gates in July 2013, five years after Epstein was first convicted of a sex crime.

The Microsoft titan has said his meetings and dinners with Epstein were because he was under the impression that the financier would aid in fundraising efforts.

Mr. Gates also said his relationship with Epstein was a “huge mistake.”

Several others who were linked to Epstein have agreed to testify before the congressional panel in the coming months, according to multiple reports.

This list includes Gateway Computer Co. co-founder Ted Waitt, who was romantically tied to Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and will sit for a transcribed interview on April 30. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is set to appear next, on May 6, followed by Tova Noel, the prison guard who said she was the last to see Epstein alive in 2019, on May 18, and Lesley Groff, Epstein’s former assistant, on June 9.

The committee has already interviewed former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, Ms. Maxwell, who is in prison, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.