Bill Gates told Oversight Committee he feared Epstein might try to blackmail him

Billionaire Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee that he was concerned that disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had considered blackmailing the Microsoft co-founder. 

The committee on Tuesday released a transcript of Gates' interview that the committee conducted on June 10 as part of its investigation into the deceased sex offender's crimes. Gates was never accused of any wrongdoing, but the committee wanted to interview him to find out if he had information that could help with their investigation.  

“He never blackmailed me, but looking at these emails, it raises a serious probability that he contemplated blackmailing me,” Gates told the committee. 

Gates' meeting with the committee was a closed-door interview, but he posted his opening statement to his website. In the statement, he called his interactions with Epstein a "grave error." 

"His behavior was antithetical to all my efforts to contribute to a world where everyone has a chance to live a healthy and productive life. If the time I spent with Epstein lent him any credibility, I am deeply sorry," Gates said. 

The Microsoft billionaire said that he never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in any criminal behavior. He never went to Epstein's island, ranch or his Florida home, Gates said. 

"While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated," Gates said. 

He met Epstein in 2011 and the financier told Gates he could raise billions of dollars to help with global health initiatives from people he provided tax and estate services to. He was aware that Epstein faced legal issues, Gates said, but he didn't fully understand the extent of the crimes he was accused of committing.  

He had five meetings total with Epstein in 2011 and 2012, followed by "more extensive conversations" in 2013 and 2014. All the discussions, according to Gates, involved ways in which Epstein could raise money to support Gates' global health and education initiatives. 

"I made it clear to Epstein from the outset that he would never play a role in any of the work or receive any compensation," Gates said. 

By 2014, he realized that efforts toward meaningful philanthropic work were at a dead-end, as no one in the group Epstein presented to Gates was interested in moving forward. Their interactions ended in December 2014, Gates said.