Tech billionaire Bill Gates said he never witnessed or suspected that Jeffrey Epstein was committing crimes and that he did not reciprocate the sex offender’s attempts to build a personal relationship, according to his opening statement before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and one of the richest people on Earth, is testifying before the panel as part of its investigation into Epstein. Gates was among several prominent individuals to appear in the Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files. Those documents show that Gates and Epstein met multiple times and that those close to Gates maintained a relationship with the sex offender.

In his opening statement, Gates said meeting with Epstein was “a grave error in judgment.”

“If the time I spent with Epstein lent him any credibility, I am deeply sorry,” he said, according to his statement.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., told reporters after the first hour of Gates’ interview with the committee that the billionaire was “not terribly forthcoming or candid” and was being “combative.” The committee member said he hoped Gates would be more forthright moving forward.

Gates has said before that he was “foolish” to spend time with Epstein. “I thought it would help me with global health, philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that, and it was just a huge mistake,” he told The Wall Street Journal in January 2025.

His charity organization, the Gates Foundation, commissioned an external investigation into its ties to Epstein in March.

Gates is not charged with any crime connected to Epstein, and he is not accused of wrongdoing. After his appearance before the House Oversight Committee was scheduled in April, his spokesperson told MS NOW, “While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work.”

In his opening statement, Gates addressed recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal about Melanie Walker, a close associate of Epstein’s who worked at the Gates Foundation and then in Gates’ private office. Walker and Gates had a sexual relationship, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Without naming her, Gates told the Oversight Committee that he was unfaithful in his marriage and that 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.”

A spokesperson for Gates told the Journal that he “was not aware of the nature of the relationship between Walker and Epstein, their shared motives, or the details of their history together” and that Walker and Epstein’s correspondence shows that the financier “was actively encouraging Walker to pursue a sexual relationship with Gates.”

Walker’s attorney, David Fleissig, told the Journal that she was “a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein” who was in “a coercive relationship” with him.

The committee previously heard testimony about Epstein from retail billionaire Les Wexner, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, among others. Several of Epstein’s former assistants have also appeared before the panel.

Epstein cultivated a network of rich and influential people across industries, including businessmen, Silicon Valley investors and academics. Many of those who appeared in the Epstein files have faced professional consequences to varying degrees for having associated with him.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Lillie Boudreaux contributed reporting.

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