Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has said he intends to support the work of the US Congressional Committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein by giving evidence.
In a brief statement before the hearing at the Capitol on Wednesday, Gates said he was glad to attend voluntarily to give evidence. The session in Washington is not open to the public.
Gates said he hoped his testimony would be helpful to the committee’s work in achieving “justice for the victims.” He did not disclose any details of his testimony.
Republican committee chairman James Comer also said before the questioning began that members of Congress wanted to learn about Gates’ relationship with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Comer emphasized that there were no allegations of misconduct against Gates.
Aim of the parliamentary committee
The Oversight Committee in the US House of Representatives is tasked with conducting a political inquiry into the abuse network run by Epstein, the financier and sex offender.
Among the files that the US Department of Justice was required by law to publish is a draft email from 2013 that was stored in Epstein’s account and appears to be addressed to Gates. A mere mention of a name in the files does not imply criminal misconduct.
A multimillionaire from New York, Epstein ran an abuse ring decades ago, to which many women and minors fell victim. Over several years, Epstein is also said to have abused minors himself, for example in New York and Florida. He died in prison in 2019 at the age of 66.
Like many prominent figures from numerous countries, Gates had previously been in contact with Epstein.
Months ago, Gates described meetings with Epstein as a mistake. He claimed he had never been to Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean, which is said to have been the hub of the abuse ring. The Microsoft co-founder emphasized that he had never met any women there.
