House lawmakers are turning their focus to billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates as congressional investigators press ahead with their probe into Jeffrey Epstein and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Gates will participate in a voluntary interview with the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Members on the panel are expected to pepper him with questions about his relationship with Epstein, which occurred years after Epstein’s 2008 prison term for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
The interview will take place behind closed doors, though a transcript is expected to be made available at a later date.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., invited Gates to testify before the committee after he appeared multiple times across millions of documents released by the federal government as part of its criminal probe against Epstein.
EPSTEIN FALLOUT GROWS AS DOJ WATCHDOG DIGS DEEPER INTO HANDLING OF THE CASE
Gates and Epstein were shown corresponding, including discussions about the tech billionaire’s philanthropy work and socializing between 2011 and 2014. Epstein later killed himself in 2019 after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.
According to the files, Epstein appeared to discover Gates’ extramarital affairs with two Russian women during his marriage to Melinda French Gates, which the tech billionaire has said did not involve Epstein’s victims.
Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has denied knowledge about Epstein’s sex crimes against minors.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a town hall recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, adding it was a “huge mistake” to spend time with Epstein.
BILL GATES: ‘FOOLISH’ TO SPEND TIME WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN
A spokesperson for Gates previously told Fox News Digital that he welcomed the opportunity to testify before the committee.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
The Microsoft founder is the latest influential figure to testify before the oversight panel in connection to the Epstein probe. Billionaire businessman Les Wexner, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have also participated in interviews with the committee.
Kathryn Ruemmler, former White House counsel to former President Barack Obama, and Leon Black, co-founder of investment firm Apollo Global Management, are expected to sit for interviews in the coming weeks.
Lawmakers have pointed to Gates’ association with Epstein after his conviction as a key focus of their inquiry.
“We’ve said we don’t care if you are a Republican or a Democrat or who you are, the fact that Mr. Gates still had a relationship with Mr. Epstein, even after knowing about the conviction, knowing actually what he had done, I think is very concerning,” House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told reporters Tuesday. “So we want to know what did Mr. Gates know, who else was around that orbit and why Mr. Gates continued to have a relationship with Mr. Epstein. I think those are important questions.”
Fox News’ Dan Scully contributed to this report.
<!–>
–>