WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 10: Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates walks through security as he arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026 in Washington, DC. The committee is continuing to hold closed-door interviews as part of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Microsoft founder Bill Gates told US members of Congress that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had sought to “blackmail” him over his extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of the testimony.
The tech pioneer testified behind closed doors before the House Oversight Committee on June 10 regarding his friendship with the disgraced American financier, who died in prison in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.
According to the transcript released by the committee Tuesday, Gates spoke of “veiled” threats and said the sex offender had considered exploiting his own knowledge of Gates’s extramarital affairs to force him to remain in Epstein’s orbit, even as Gates was distancing himself from Epstein.
“I was not blackmailed, but you know, as you look at these emails, you know, it looks like Mr. Epstein’s brainstorming was going in that direction,” Gates added, referring to documents from the Epstein case released in January by the US Department of Justice.
