Bill Gates apologized to staff at the Gates Foundation for his ties to former financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and acknowledged two extramarital affairs during a town hall meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Details on the town hall meeting and what Bill Gates revealed
“In the town hall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions,” a spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
The spokesperson’s comments were in response to the Wall Street Journal exclusive report, which included audio of Gates confirming his friendship with Epstein at a Gates Foundation biannual town hall meeting. He insisted that he never committed any crimes, despite being mentioned in the Department of Justice’s newly released documents of the Epstein files in January.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said in the recording obtained by The Wall Street Journal.
What did Gates say about his relationship with Epstein?
Earlier in February, the Gates Foundation announced that the organization had never made any financial payments to Epstein, nor employed him at any time, according to CBC. The DOJ’s documents also include photos of Gates and women whose faces were redacted.
Gates has stated that their relationship was strictly based on philanthropy discussions and that it was a mistake to meet with him. Additionally, Gates told his staff that the photos he was in with those women were taken at Epstein’s request with Epstein’s assistants after their meetings, according to The Wall Street Journal and CBC.
“To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates added, according to the report.
Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida, and claimed he was only vaguely aware of the pedophile’s prior conviction, according to The Independent.
He also said his ex-wife, Melinda Gates, had raised concerns about Epstein, but he disregarded her warnings and continued the relationship with the financier. Gates then shared his regret with his staff.
“Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” Gates said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
When speaking on his ex-wife, he added: “To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.”
Spokesperson on the town hall meeting: ‘Bill answered questions submitted by foundation staff”
While Gates had traveled with Epstein both nationally and internationally, he insisted that he never stayed overnight or visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island called Little St. James.
Gates said he cut ties with Epstein in 2014 and did not respond to subsequent emails from him, according to The Independent.
At the time, Epstein told Gates that he had close relationships with other billionaires and that he could help Gates raise money with the charities he was involved with, the BBC reported.
The Gates Foundation spokesperson confirmed that the town hall meeting was scheduled and that Gates usually holds the event twice a year, according to The Independent.
“In the conversation, Bill answered questions submitted by foundation staff on a range of issues, including the release of the Epstein files, the foundation’s work in AI, and the future of global health,” the spokesperson said.
The post Bill Gates Apologizes For Jeffrey Epstein Ties To Foundation Staff: ‘I Did Nothing Illicit’ appeared first on Blavity.
