KUOW72%
Bill Gates suspects Epstein tried to blackmail him, newly released testimony transcript shows 15%
By Sami West0% Amy Radil0% Catharine Smith0%
6/24/2026, 11:12:42 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 10 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Recency Bias, and Anchoring Bias, with Hindsight Bias as the most egregious example at 9.2% saturation with 65 hits. Analysis detected 339 faulty-reasoning hits from 706 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 31.3% and a BS Rank of 15% (17,560 of 20,515 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 85.60% of the article peer group.
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates suspects Jeffrey Epstein may have tried to blackmail him with information about his extramarital affairs.
That’s according to a newly released transcript of closed-door testimony Gates gave to the House Oversight Committee on June 10, which sheds new light on the years Gates was in contact with Epstein.
Gates’ ties to Epstein have been public knowledge for years.
His name appeared multiple times in the Justice Department’s Epstein files, and Gates allegedly met with Epstein on multiple occasions between 2011 and 2014, following Epstein’s conviction for sex crimes involving minors in 2008.
Gates has continually stressed that he was not aware of Epstein’s crimes and denies participating in any of them.
But the transcript of his Congressional testimony, released on Tuesday, reveals more about Gates’ relationship with Epstein.
Gates once again made headlines earlier this year when his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, was mentioned in a batch of newly released emails from the Justice Department.
In the 2013 messages, Epstein claims he helped Gates secure medication to treat a sexually transmitted infection from “sex with Russian girls.”
Epstein also said Gates wanted to secretly give that medication to French Gates.
Gates has denied these claims, calling them “absolutely absurd and completely false” in a February statement to NPR.
In an interview with NPR, French Gates said Gates needed to answer for the behavior himself, and that it brought back memories of “some very, very painful times” in their marriage.
In his testimony earlier this month, Gates said he assumes a mutual associate, Dr.
Boris Nikolic, told Epstein about Gates’ affairs with two Russian women.
Nikolic was a key figure in Gates’ testimony.
Gates and Nikolic worked closely at the Gates Foundation and then Gates’ firm, Gates Ventures.
Nikolic was also close with Epstein, and was later named in his will.
Gates said it was Nikolic who made the introduction between the two of them, and that’s how he believes Epstein found out about his affairs.
On one occasion, Gates said during his testimony that he used Nikolic as an alibi on his schedule to meet with one of the women.
But things got messy after Nikolic decided to leave Gates’ employment — at the same time Gates said French Gates was learning about these affairs.
That was when Gates presumes Epstein wrote those draft emails containing allegations he had a sexually transmitted disease.
Gates once again denied these claims, telling Congress he’s never had an STD, and speculated it was some kind of attempt at blackmail.
“It looks like he’s musing on using a mixture of facts and falsities as an effort, almost like a blackmail, to advance some goal in improving Dr.
Nikolic’s negotiating position as part of his exit from my employ,” Gates told the Congressional committee.
Gates’ testimony also provided new details about why he befriended Epstein in the first place.
Gates had previously said that the relationship grew out of his desire to raise money for global health causes.
Earlier this month, Gates described some dinners he had with Epstein, his palatial house in Manhattan, and the impression he got that Epstein seemed to know many wealthy and powerful people, including scientists and investors.
Gates said that made him hopeful that Epstein would invest in some of Gates’ philanthropic ventures.
But, by 2014, he realized that Epstein “would never deliver on his promises” and broke off contact.
In his testimony, Gates also answered questions about his previous claims to not know of Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, in which Epstein pleaded guilty of solicitation of prostitution with a minor.
“I recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed,” Gates told members of Congress.
“I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have.”
Gates said it wasn’t until 2018, when a Miami newspaper described what he called the more “extensive and horrific details of what [Epstein] had done” back in 2008 that he realized Epstein was a registered sex offender.
For more insights from Gates’ Congressional testimony, listen to the full conversation above on KUOW’s “All Things Considered.”
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