Three questions Bill Gates could face as he testifies to Congress on Epstein

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and 1 of the world's astir salient philanthropists, is acceptable to beryllium interviewed by a legislature committee connected Wednesday astir his past relation with the precocious convicted enactment offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

Gates is appearing voluntarily successful Washington, saying helium welcomes the accidental to reply questions astir his narration with the disgraced financier earlier the House Oversight Committee.

Epstein killed himself successful a jailhouse compartment successful 2019 portion awaiting trial. His long-time person and associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year situation word for her portion successful his crimes.

Gates's transportation to Epstein came to wider nationalist attraction aft the US Department of Justice (DOJ) precocious published much than 3 cardinal pages of documents linked to the transgression probe of Epstein. Gates's sanction appeared thousands of times.

He has repeatedly denied immoderate wrongdoing and rejected the thought that helium knew thing astir Epstein's amerciable activity. But successful a TV interrogation earlier this year, helium did admit helium exercised mediocre judgement successful gathering Epstein.

"I was foolish to walk clip with him. I was 1 of galore radical who regret ever knowing him," helium said.

Among the worldly released by the DOJ was a photograph that appears to amusement Gates adjacent an craft with Epstein's aviator present. Gates has said helium travelled with Epstein connected a backstage pitchy - 1 of those facts that person haunted galore who person been tarnished by Epstein.

Other images amusement Gates posing with his limb astir Epstein and a fig of unidentified women.

Documents besides see draught emails attributed to Epstein, containing a bid of unverified and disputed claims astir Gates's idiosyncratic life. These see allegations that Epstein facilitated "illicit trysts" with "married women" for Gates, that the Microsoft co-founder had contracted a sexually-transmitted corruption (STI) from what Epstein called "Russian girls", and that helium had "helped Bill get drugs" to dainty it.

A abstracted email alleged that Gates sought to "surreptitiously" springiness his then-wife Melinda antibiotics to support her from the aforesaid infection. Gates powerfully denies these claims but has admitted having had affairs with 2 Russian women.

So, what are 3 large questions Epstein could beryllium asked by the legislature committee?

1. Why did Gates get to cognize a antheral who was already a convicted enactment offender?

Gates's halfway mentation for his relation with Epstein has been that the narration was transactional, centring connected discussions astir philanthropy and imaginable backing for his instauration that yet came to nothing.

It's not wide from his nationalist statements what specifically brought the 2 together.

According to Gates, their relation began successful 2011 – 3 years aft Epstein was convicted successful Florida connected 2 charges of soliciting prostitution, including 1 involving idiosyncratic nether the property of 18. The 2 inactive had dealings successful 2014 – a agelong time, immoderate mightiness say, to observe Epstein wasn't providing immoderate utile assistance for the foundation.

The pb Democrat connected the committee, Robert Garcia, told reporters connected Monday: "Bill Gates was inactive communicating with Jeffrey Epstein, adjacent aft immoderate of this benignant of horrific accusation astir him and what helium was doing was nationalist to a batch of folks, and truthful we privation to inquire Mr Gates, wherefore proceed that relationship?

"Who other did helium see? What other mightiness helium know? And who other should we beryllium bringing successful to inquire questions of?"

2. Why didn't Gates amusement much curiosity astir Epstein's past?

Gates told unit astatine his instauration successful February that helium said helium was alert of immoderate "18-month thing" that had constricted Epstein's travel, but that helium didn't decently cheque his background.

That relationship is apt to beryllium tested successful questioning by the committee.

Lawmakers are expected to probe however plausible it is that Gates – 1 of the titans of the accusation sphere - would person remained mostly incurious astir the details of Epstein's background, including facts that were already successful the nationalist domain, during a play erstwhile the 2 men appeared to walk important clip together.

3. Did Epstein question to power Gates, oregon vice versa?

In its missive inviting Gates to beryllium for an interview, the committee said it believed helium would person utile accusation concerning the "ways successful which Mr Epstein and Ms Maxwell sought to curry favour and workout power to support their amerciable activities".

This astatine slightest is simply a imaginable crushed for Epstein wanting to cognize idiosyncratic similar Gates - who, portion not a politician, is simply a planetary fig with important networks and influence.

The committee's constituent present suggests that Epstein wasn't conscionable looking for almighty friends, but besides ways of leveraging those contacts for other, illicit reasons.

It's wide Epstein appeared to walk a batch of clip cultivating specified people. His associations often blurred the enactment betwixt concern and societal interactions.

He besides kept copious and documented records of the radical helium knew: hence the piles of emails, photos and different documents that are present successful the nationalist domain.

He entertained, wined and dined, and flew radical astir for vacations astatine his assorted properties. It is plausible that immoderate of the details helium hoarded astir his associates could person been utilized to unit oregon power them, though determination is nary grounds that this occurred successful Gates's case.

Nonetheless, details astir the alleged STI - denied by Gates - would surely person the imaginable to beryllium profoundly embarrassing and damaging if Epstein had decided to usage them.

"We privation to cognize whether Epstein wanted to power Gates oregon adjacent whether helium blackmailed Gates successful immoderate mode similar helium allegedly did with others," Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, different Democrat connected the committee, told the BBC.

From Gates's constituent of view, his stated information was raising wealth for his planetary wellness initiatives. Earlier this year, the Gates Foundation said: "On the ground of Epstein's claims that helium could mobilise important philanthropic resources for planetary wellness and development, a tiny fig of instauration employees interacted with Epstein to effort to unafraid this imaginable funding."

But, it added, "ultimately, the instauration did not prosecute immoderate collaboration with Epstein and nary money was ever created". It went connected to accidental that it "regrets having immoderate employees interact with Epstein successful immoderate way".

So it comes down to this: wherefore walk truthful overmuch clip with idiosyncratic who wasn't delivering? That volition astir surely beryllium a cardinal question connected the lips of those who volition get to quiz Gates.

Additional reporting by Cai Pigliucci and Daniel Wittenberg