“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 opening statement.
The men’s association began in 2011, three years after Epstein was convicted in Florida on two charges of soliciting prostitution, and grew as they discussed potential fundraising for Gates’s global health initiative, he told the panel.
Gates said he made it clear from the outset that Epstein would never play a role in his foundation’s work or receive any compensation.
The committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, told reporters in an update on the hearing that “Gates was aware that Jeffrey Epstein could be convicted for a horrific crime, and continued to interact with him to seek money for his foundation”.
Gates told the committee that in 2014, after Epstein brought together a group he described as potential donors, he “realized that our prior discussions – which should have translated into meaningful philanthropic support – were a dead-end”, adding it was clear that no one in the group was interested in moving forward.
“At that point, I concluded Epstein would never deliver on his promises,” he said. “I told him we would go no further and stopped communicating or meeting with him.”
Democrats on the committee said Gates gave the names of the people Epstein gathered, but did not share them publicly.
