Overview
- Citing the transcript released by the House Oversight Committee, Bill Gates told lawmakers he believed Jeffrey Epstein 'contemplated' using knowledge of his extramarital affairs as leverage while stressing that he was never actually blackmailed.
- Gates identified three women he said he had affairs with—Mila Antonova, Karima Nigmatulina and Dr. Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt—and said those relationships were separate from his interactions with Epstein.
- Gates said his contact with Epstein ran roughly from 2011 to 2014 and included about 12 to 14 in-person meetings and two Skype calls focused on philanthropy and fundraising, and he denied witnessing criminal conduct or meeting victims through Epstein.
- Documents in the Epstein files include draft emails and notes that Gates described as a mix of true details and falsehoods that looked like 'brainstorming' about how to gain leverage, while the DOJ has said it found no credible evidence that Epstein successfully blackmailed prominent people.
- The transcript adds to DOJ material already given to Congress and has renewed calls from lawmakers and survivors' advocates for more interviews and disclosures to clarify who knew what and how Epstein cultivated influence among elites.