Bill Gates' 'Secret' Connections to Jeffrey Epstein Exposed

My testimony is helpful to the work, important work of the committee to find. justice for the victims. >> That's right. Something you may have. been waiting for if you've been. following the Jeffrey Epstein saga, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates just sat. down for an interview with the House. Oversight Committee. What did he say? What does it mean when you look at the. released Epstein files? Let's get into. it. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by. Law&Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Oh, by the way, before we get into this,

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you just hang out. You relax while you. wait for the app alerts without having. to, you know, hover over the grill. It. works with ovens, smokers, stovetops, air fryers, and it's for every protein. from prime rib to wings to salmon. Seriously, this Father's Day, it's time. to raise the stakes, no pun intended, and cook with confidence. Use code. SIDEBAR for 40% off sitewide at. chefIQ.com. I have never victimized anyone. Those were the words of Microsoft. co-founder Bill Gates yesterday as he.

went up to Capitol Hill and testified, sat down for an interview about Jeffrey. Epstein. And this just added a whole new. dimension to this story. This is a big. deal. He's arguably one of the most. high-profile people to be questioned in. the Epstein case. Now, there have been. other ones that we'll talk about, but. this is significant. And I do want to. get into what he reportedly said, even. though, to be clear, this was a. closed-door session. We don't have the. transcript. We don't have the audio. We. don't have the video at the time of this.

broadcast. But what we do have is. reporting on what he said. And we're. going to put it into context with what. the Epstein files themselves reveal. about Bill Gates' apparent relationship. or connection or association with. Jeffrey Epstein. Now, we know that the. House Oversight Committee has been. investigating the Jeffrey Epstein story, right? The deceased financier who was. set to face a sex trafficking trial in. New York before he died in his jail cell. back in 2019. The question now is who.

knew what? What was Epstein up to? Did. anyone help facilitate, know about, encourage, aid him in what he was. accused of doing? Is the system a. problem? Did the system allow him to. operate and to do what he was accused of. doing? Was he given any kind of. protection? Is there anyone else out. there who needs to be held accountable? And when it comes to Bill Gates, it has. been reported for quite some time that. he and Epstein had a connection. There. is even at least one photo of them.

together. Gates' name has come up most. recently in the Epstein files that were. released as part of the Epstein Files. Transparency Act, which I'm going to get. into. Now, to be clear, and I have to be. extremely clear about this, okay? An association, a picture together, an email. correspondence, it doesn't mean that someone committed a. crime or was aware of illegal activity. Got to be clear about that. There's. nothing that suggests that Bill Gates. committed a crime or knew about illegal.

activity. He has not been charged with a. crime. But let me just get into what he. said on Capitol Hill. Again, significant. And actually, we did get. this snippet from Bill Gates before he. even went in for his interview behind. closed doors. Take a look. >> Glad to be here voluntarily to testify. uh to help with the committee's work. I'll start with an opening statement in. the hearing room. I hope my testimony is helpful to the. work important work of the committee to.

find justice for the victims. Thank you. >> So, what did he say? Well, according to. reporting from multiple outlets, because. again, no audio, no video, no transcript. has been released at this time. Gates. said to the committee, quote, "I never. witnessed nor had any indication that. Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal. conduct. I never went to his island, his. ranch, or his Florida home. I have never. victimized anyone. While he may have. sought to foster a personal. relationship, I was never interested in. that and never reciprocated. I learned.

Epstein had become aware of sensitive. information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been. unfaithful in my marriage. These affairs. had nothing to do with my interactions. with Epstein, but they were painful for. my family. And to be clear, there's nothing that. conflicts that, right? There's no. definitive proof that Gates ever visited. any of those properties. There's no. evidence that Gates ever sexually abused. anyone. And this idea of blackmail is. interesting because Gates did admit to. having extramarital affairs. Quote, "As.

the public can now see, based on what. has been released in the files, 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. He was. unsuccessful in this effort, but it. shows some of the ways he tried to. leverage his interactions with me to. further his agenda." And Gates. acknowledged that meeting with Epstein. was a quote, "grave error in judgment. I. should never have met with Epstein in.

the first place." Now, in terms of what. that relationship actually was, Gates. reportedly said, quote, "My interactions. with Epstein began with a limited number. of preliminary meetings, three in 2011. and two in 2012, during which I talked. about the goals of my work. We began. more extensive conversations in 2013 and. 2014. The discussions focused on. identifying potential giving structures. such as donor-advised funds and how to. enroll individuals he claimed were.

interested in making significant. contributions. So, this is all about. philanthropy, right? Now, Gates. reportedly told lawmakers that it wasn't. as if he was friends with Epstein, right? They didn't socialize. They. didn't hang out beyond dinners, again, what he claims was about philanthropic. work. And he also made it clear that. there were no girls or young women that. were around. So, just to clarify about. this, Gates reportedly said that he was. using Epstein to secure wealthy. donations for his philanthropic work in. public health. And when it seemed like.

that wasn't going to happen, that it. wasn't going to go anywhere, that's when. he claims he cut ties with Epstein. And. then that is when he says Epstein fired. back, tried to use Gates' affairs to. pressure him into re-engaging with him. Here's the big issue, okay? This is the. big problem for Bill Gates. And we've. had this conversation with other people. before, right? Gates, like others, had a. connection with Jeffrey Epstein. after Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to. sex crimes charges in Florida in that.

whole 2008 sweetheart plea deal, guilty. of solicitation of a minor for. prostitution. That was known. So, of. course, the question is, why did you maintain contact with him? Why did you even have contact with him? Now, Gates reportedly told the. committee, quote, "I recall being aware. that Epstein had faced prior legal. issues, but I did not fully understand. the extent of the crimes he committed. I. accepted the introduction without. applying the scrutiny I should have.".

And what's interesting about that is. that the Wall Street Journal reported. that in a 2014 email, there was this. medical expert, this is this associate. who had worked for Bill Gates, uh name her name her name was Melanie. Walker, and somebody who was apparently. friends with Epstein, that she warned. Bill Gates in an email to keep quote a. healthy distance for anything of a. personal nature from Epstein, and that. Epstein quote appeals to people's. weaknesses and proclivities. So,

obviously you see why this raises. questions. What has been the reaction so. far to this testimony? Well, according. to several Democratic members of the. committee, Gates was cooperative. But. then you have GOP Representative Tim. Burchett, who described the questioning. of Bill Gates as quote intense. You have. Democratic Representative Raja. Krishnamoorthi, who said that Gates was. quote combative and quote not terribly. forthcoming or candid. Representative. Robert Garcia said Gates made a quote. horrific judgment call by associating.

with Jeffrey Epstein, and also said. Gates was quote answering the questions. What about Representative Suhas. Subramanian? Said quote there has been a. lot of apologies from Gates. He is sorry. he associated with Epstein so much, but. in the end, what is done is done. Democratic Representative Melanie. Stansbury said Gates acknowledged. maintaining contact with Epstein because. he thought that his relationship, his. connection with Epstein, was a quote. narrow relationship and quote an. acceptable means to access wealthy.

donors. But then there's also this Bill. Gates spokesperson who released a. statement on Wednesday, and I'm going to. read it to you. It says quote, "As Mr. Gates has consistently stated and. reiterated to the House Oversight. Committee, he never witnessed nor had. any indication of Epstein's ongoing. criminal conduct. He never visited. Epstein's island, his ranch, or Florida. home, and has never victimized anyone. When asked about photos in which he. appeared with women in Epstein's orbit, Mr. Gates noted that none of them. participated in his meetings with. Epstein. They were not introduced to him.

by name or role and had no substantive. interaction with him beyond being asked. by Epstein to stand for a photograph. Mr. Gates expressed sadness for the. suffering endured by anyone harmed by. Epstein's crimes. Now it becomes a. question of what are they going to do. with this information? What are they. going to do with these answers? And I'm. going to get to that in a minute. But I. want to go back and put this into. context, right? I want to go back and. put what he said. into context with the Epstein files and. see what the Gates mentions are. Keep. all of this in mind, okay? Now I'm going.

to start with what could be considered. the most unusual one. You have this draft email. Looks like. it's from 2013. Potentially one that. Epstein had sent or saved to himself. And the argument is was he sending this. to or planning to send this to an. advisor who wanted to leave the Gates. Foundation. I'm going to read it to you. verbatim. Quote, "Dear Bill, I cannot. believe that you have chosen to. disregard our friendship developed over. the last 6 years. I am aware that.

accidents happen and it is how each of. us has chosen to deal with this. unfortunate event that has me dismayed. beyond comprehension. You have decided. to discharge me from my job. Had Larry, your PR person, told me that I engaged. in morally inappropriate behavior, asked. me to be the major actor in a cover-up, so that you can maintain the reputation. that you have worked so hard to achieve, asked me to recommit to a. confidentiality agreement, and have. categorically told me that we cannot. have any direct ongoing business. relationship in total disregard for its. impact on the public perception of my.

reputation, I will have to diligently. avoid the truth, tell people that Bill. will not invest with me, and craft an. answer that suits your needs. But you. did agree to send you a letter of. recommendation should a future employer. ask for one. You have told me that. Melinda insists on me not communicating. with you unless Larry is copied or. present. Though you have consistently. maintained that I could not have done a. better job and that I was underpaid. compared to my contribution, you then, beyond all sense of fairness and frankly. decency, said that as generous.

compensation for keeping the gate's. reputation intact, you would let me keep. what we agreed I had already owned, the. investment pieces, and give me two years. severance. Similar to Christine Turner, another casualty, if the shoe was on the. other foot, I would have said, "Boris, this is not your fault. I confessed to. Melinda you did it in a moment of. weakness, and I will do anything within. my power to make it right for you. I. have more money than anyone needs, and I. assure you I will structure something so.

that you will not be penalized for my. error. Lucky for me, I have enough money. to provide to you, though it will not. heal the injury, it will make you secure. in your future. In addition, I will bend. over backwards to make sure your next. career is rewarding and on an upswing. I. appreciate the fact that this. drastically alters your plans, and I'm. very aware of the career path you gave. up to join the foundation. I am very. sorry, but as I believe time heals all. wounds, this will eventually pass. In. that regard, I suggest I buy you the. house that you so had your heart set on,

and in addition to five years of. severance, will buy you out of the. investment contract we had agreed, 30 to. 40% of a $100 million partnership, for. $30 million. in today's dollars, terms and conditions. to be agreed. That's what I would have. done had I been in your shoes. What I. did receive, however, was an unfriendly, strongly worded email telling me how. employable I am, and that I should not. look to you for any significant. financial help in the future. To add. insult to the injury, you then implore.

me to please delete the emails regarding. your STD. You request that I provide you. antibiotics that you can surreptitiously. give to Melinda, and the description of. your You also made it clear to me that I. am not to refer to redacted, as that is. another topic that must remain between. the two of us. In return for all of. these requests, which I would have done. without a second thought, I am not to. attend meetings with Melinda. I should. continue to provide you the same level. of service and dedication that I have.

done so diligently until you are ready. to discard me and our friendship. So, assuming this was from Epstein, he seems. to be claiming that Bill Gates was. seeking treatment for an STD, that he. was going to give what he allegedly had. to Melinda. And again, to be clear, we don't know if this was sent, we don't. know the circumstances behind behind. this. We really don't have a lot more. information, but there is this one uh. this other communication. I think it's. the same idea. I think this is a draft. email from Epstein that he sent to.

himself again back in 2013. Quote, "I. have decided to resign my position. effective immediately with BG3 and the. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I. have not come to this decision quickly. or without a great deal of thought. During the past few weeks, I have been. caught up in a severe marital dispute. between Melinda and Bill. I have the. greatest respect for my friend of 7. years and wish them both well. In my. role as his right hand, I had been asked. on multiple occasions and in hindsight. wrongly acquiesced into participating in. things that have ranged from the morally.

inappropriate to the ethically unsound. and had been repeatedly asked to do. other things that get near and. potentially over the line into the. illegal. Though it was kindly suggested. that I make a transition to a new. position after my 6 years of service and. that Bill would, in his words, give me a. generous package, I feel it would be. dishonest to myself and my future. From. helping Bill to get drugs in order to. deal with consequences of sex with. Russian girls to facilitating his. illicit trysts with married women to. being asked to provide Adderall for.

bridge tournaments, I feel I owe it to. my friends and future colleagues to. admit a moral failure, to ask. forgiveness, and to move on with my. life. Now, to be clear, we don't know. exactly who authored this, whether it. was ever sent. The allegations. themselves are uncorroborated, unsupported, unverified, but an argument that you can see being. made is maybe Epstein was upset that. Gates, right? They maybe had a falling. out and cuz look what he's allegedly. talking about, right? Look what he's. allegedly using or planning to use.

against Bill Gates. Now, a spokesperson. for Bill Gates had previously rejected. these allegations that were laid out. saying quote, "These claims are. absolutely absurd and completely false.". And by the way, earlier this year. NPR's Wild Card podcast it aired an. interview with Melinda Gates, so Bill. Gates' ex-wife. The two had divorced in. 2021. And the interview apparently. includes Melinda's response to her ex.

being mentioned so many times in the. Epstein files. Quote, "For me, it's. personally hard whenever those details. come up, right? Because it brings back. memories of some very, very painful. times in my marriage. Whatever questions. remain there of what I can't even begin. to know all of it. Those questions are. for those people and for even my. ex-husband. They need to answer to those. things, not me. I'm able to take my own. sadness and look at those young girls. and say, 'My God, how did that happen to. those girls?' At least for me, I've been.

able to move on in life and I hope. there's some justice for those now. women." Going back to the Epstein files, there are actual direct connections. between Epstein and Gates in these. files, okay? Like for this one, 2017. email from Epstein to Gates reads quote, "Bill, I know you're in Australia. Hope. you're having fun. I heard from an old. friend of yours and thought you and I. should speak.". There's an email chain between Epstein.

and Gates back in 2014 where they. discuss charity funding called DAF, D A. F, or donor advised fund. Starts with Epstein writing Gates. feedback. Gates writes back, "I enjoyed the. breakfast a lot. All of the attendees. were interesting people. We managed to. talk about philanthropy enough to get. their reaction without putting them on. the spot too much. It is pretty clear to. me that someone young like Josh wants he. and his family to have a more hands-on. approach than delegating 60% of giving.

to a set of causes we manage. I had less. of a sense of how Ron thinks about his. giving. He might be a candidate for the. large DAF approach where the foundation. helps with some of the giving. Reed is. always fascinating to talk to. He's also. young enough in managing his work. without extreme hours, so he will want. to be more hands-on. So, I think the. breakfast was a success in terms of. relationships I value and will continue. to spend time on. In terms of the DAF, I. don't think we have any people at this. point who will move to do something. soon. It is a good idea, but it won't. come together with four to six partners.

anytime soon. Now, that might be. something why if you hear Gates say, "Hey, then Jeffrey Epstein was pushing. back on me or pressuring me because I. didn't really see maybe any more value. to being with him. I can't get the funds. that I'm looking for." Now, Epstein. actually replied, this was his advice. "As usual, everyone liked you a lot, each surprised by how knowledgeable you. were about many various subjects. However, not one of them understood what. the DAF idea meant to you. What they. heard was that you would let {quote} let.

them contribute to things like very. special diseases, small worms or such. that never gets funding, and or if they. like, they could give a portion of their. money to women's health issue, but no. more than 60% of their giving. And. that's it. Sorry." And then he provides. Gates with suggestions. For example, {quote} "My suggestions, one, the idea first and foremost is about. sharing. Sharing your experience, your. judgment, your values, your ideas. That. requires asking them questions. I.e.,

what are you interested in? How many. kids do you have? What do you think? Etc. This is what we're thinking of. doing that is good for you and us, not. merely good for women, Africans, uneducated kids, etc. Here is how it. might work. Here is how it might be. beneficial for you now and for your. estate. Here is how you can magnify your. current impact in things that matter for. you. Bill Gates will be your partner, your friend, your colleague in the. giving arena. We can do things together. You can save taxes or someone else's.

lawyer can do that part. I believe with. more credibility than you in this area. We can partner, enjoy the process, etc. Do good, do better, etc. Conversations. on philanthropy without results are just. more conversations. Yes, they all want. to have a hand in where their money. goes. Of course, they worked hard for. it, but properly structured and. presented, the DAF provides more. benefits than burdens in every arena and. a DAF with you is the pinnacle of their. giving lives. The example you gave the. group of the past was only one in which. friends on who you personally called.

gave you 100 million each for your polio. program. Not what these guys would do. even after being waterboarded. 2014, this exchange. So, Epstein writes Gates, quote, "One of the techie wealth holders. suggested my version of the DAF was in. his mind like cloud computing for the. giving world. All the admin and storage. is done in the giving cloud and all you. need is one piece of paper confirming. your transfer to receive your tax. benefits, no filings, employees, etc.". Gates writes back, quote, "It is a good. analogy. It is clearer to me now than.

before and it could be a great thing. This week is a bit crazy with strategy. reviews and Microsoft stuff, but after. it I will get to see if anyone at the. foundation sees any issues with sitting. down with some people and asking if they. would be interested. I have a trip to DC. in March where I can probably go up to. New York City at the end. So, assuming. everything looks good and it works for. you to get a small group together there. to discuss if that could be the next. step. By the way, remember that Boris. that I mentioned before? Seemingly Boris. Nikolic, a uh reported biotech venture.

capitalist. Well, listen to what Gates. wrote in 2010, reportedly wrote in 2010, quote, "After talking with Melinda, I've. decided to leave New York City after the. Pete Peterson meeting. So, this means I. won't have time to do another meeting, and I won't be able to do the dinner. with Jeff Epstein. I was looking forward. to the dinner. Nathan had agreed with. you that I would enjoy meeting with him, and that it is a fine thing to do so on. another trip. I will try and do it." So, then again, that was to Boris, and then. Boris appears to forward that to. Epstein. What about this? A Google.

Calendar invite from back in 2012 that. reads Bill Gates in Norway, Friday, July. 6th, 6:00 to 6:30 a.m. Just to be clear. again, the Gates Foundation has said it. didn't move forward with Epstein's fund. and never transferred any money to. Epstein, quote, "On the basis of. Epstein's claims that he could mobilize. significant philanthropic resources for. global health and development, a small. number of foundation employees. interacted with Epstein to try to secure. this potential funding. Ultimately, the. foundation did not pursue any. collaboration with Epstein, and no fund.

was ever created." Now, to put this all. into context once again, Gates'. testimony comes after other big hitters, right? Bill and Hillary Clinton were. questioned. Epstein's lawyer was. questioned. Epstein's accountant was. questioned. Most recently, Leslie Groff, his executive assistant for years, was. questioned by lawmakers. Her name comes. up a lot in the Epstein file. She told. the House Oversight and Reform. Committee, quote, "I believe that my. testimony will dispel the false notion. that because of my employment with. Epstein, I must have knowingly enabled.

or conspired with him to commit his evil. acts. Nothing could be further from the. truth. Mr. Epstein was, in hindsight, a. master manipulator and deceiver who. separated his legitimate life from his. secret life as an abuser and made sure. that as his secretary, those two worlds. did not collide." She claimed that she. never had a social relationship with. him, never flew on his jet, never. visited him after he was arrested in. 2019, did not go to his parties, did not. go to Epstein Island. This was.

interesting because according to FBI. notes, Graff reportedly had told. investigators, quote, "From the. beginning, massage was a part of. Epstein's day. They were normal. appointments." Graff thought Maxwell. told her Epstein had to have a massage. every day. Graff's job was to make. appointments. To Graff, making massage. appointments was just another. appointment she had to make for Epstein, and that Epstein would call Graff, quote, "In the morning and say something. like, 'Call redacted and see if she can. do a massage at 4:00.'" So, was he.

insulating Graff from what he was. accused of doing? Epstein's personal assistant, Sarah. Kellen, also spoke with lawmakers. She. said, quote, "He groomed me sexually and. psychologically abused me, controlled. me, manipulated me, dominated me, and. gaslit me until I could no longer tell. which thoughts were mine and which were. his. After months of unpaid labor, he. instructed me to draw him a bath on his. island, then ordered me to undress and. get in with him. And he said, 'The job. is yours. Now you just have to keep it.'.

He then pulled me onto his bed and made. clear what keeping the job required. Only after I submitted to his sexual. abuse did the paychecks begin. He knew. everyone in the fashion industry, academics, finance, government, powerful. world leaders, dictators, and everyone. in between. From the beginning, he. showed me that he was more powerful than. basically anyone in the world. Jeffrey. was able to fool and manipulate the. brightest minds in the world. Us victims. didn't stand a chance. So, now what. happens? What happens with this. testimony? What happens with Gates'. testimony? Well, look, all this.

testimony is on the record. It's. memorialized. It's creating an. understanding of what Epstein was up to. Maybe a clearer, more comprehensive. picture than we would have known or knew. from Ghislaine Maxwell's trial, right, her criminal trial in New York. And. remember, the House Oversight Committee, they're not a law enforcement agency. They don't have a law enforcement. function. They can't arrest people. They. can't charge people. They can refer. matters for criminal investigation or. prosecution to the DOJ. But they're in a legislative capacity. They have to have a legislative purpose.

So, can they create laws? Can they. create legislation, reforms, new laws. that create a sense of accountability. for Epstein's victims or ensure that no. one like Jeffrey Epstein can be allowed. to operate and flourish in the future. In terms of what's next, look, Democrats, they want President Donald. Trump to testify given his own. references in the Epstein files, his. past connection with the disgraced. financier. Ranking member James Comer. wants Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz. to sit for an interview. There is even a. push to have acting AG Todd Blanche come.

in as well. So, we shall see what happens next. And. that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us and as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your. podcast. You can also check us out on. NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to. follow me, X, Instagram, my NewsNation. show Jesse Weber Live, Monday through. Friday, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. See you next. time, everybody.