The Daily Caller News Foundation asked lawmakers Wednesday why Bill Gates was allowed to testify about his alleged Jeffrey Epstein ties behind closed doors, though some members argued the testimony should have been public.
Gates testified in a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about his relationship with Epstein that was detailed through the release of more than 3 million files by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The committee told the DCNF that depositions and transcribed interviews give them “more in depth, sustained questioning in order to gather the facts.”
While the billionaire got to testify privately, several of Epstein’s alleged victims publicly testified before the House Oversight Committee on May 13. Sarah Kellen, a former personal assistant to Jeffrey Epstein, testified in a closed-door deposition with the Oversight Committee on May 22.
“The Committee is conducting a thorough investigation of the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases. Depositions and transcribed interviews provide the committee with more in depth, sustained questioning in order to gather the facts. This is our 15th interview as part of our investigation and we release the full transcripts to the public after every interview,” an Oversight Committee spokesperson told the DCNF.
Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett stated that both parties agreed that these hearings should be “wide open” to the public.
“I don’t know, ma’am, that is above my pay grade,” Burchett told the DCNF in response to why the testimony was closed to the public. “I’m about transparency, I always say let it be wide open. It seems to be something both parties agree on and that’s the way we go. We did that with the Clinton’s as well, I think the Clinton’s said they weren’t gonna come in unless we did that, which I don’t know how you get passed a subpoena, I’m not really sure how that works, but I guess you’re a big deal [if] you can do more than the rest of us.”
Burchett also told reporters that Epstein “reeled” Gates in because he liked having important people around him. He said Gates appeared “very worn down and stressed” during his questioning.
Democratic California Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, said that Democrats on the committee wanted a public hearing.
“Let’s be really clear, we want public hearings, we want these video taped, we want them under oath, we want these released to the American public,” Garcia told the DCNF. “But that’s a decision that Chairman [James] Comer and the majority get to make by being in the majority, and we think it’s very unfortunate. We should be opening these to the American public.”
Gates hired Jake Greenberg, who until December was spearheading the committee’s Epstein inquiry, to prepare the billionaire for his testimony, according to The New York Times. The arrangement raised eyebrows among many government ethics experts, who argued it could create questionable optics.
The DOJ’s release of the Epstein files disclosed Gates’ previous friendship with Epstein, including references to two scheduled meetings between the men and an alleged sexually transmitted disease (STD) Gates contracted from Russian prostitutes. In an email draft from July 18, 2013, Epstein wrote that he implored Gates to delete emails regarding his alleged STD and claimed that he sought antibiotics to secretly give to his then-wife, Melinda.
A separate email in the release appeared to be a draft where Epstein announced his resignation from the Gates Foundation, in which Epstein claimed he helped Gates “get drugs” to “deal with consequences of sex with [R]ussian girls.”
In February, Gates told 9 News Australia that he never went to Epstein’s island or met with any women. He also acknowledged meeting with Epstein in 2011 and having a relationship for three years, which all happened after he had served time in jail for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
“It’s factually true that I was only at dinners. I never went to the island, I never met any women and the more that comes out, the more clear it’ll be that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior,” Gates said.
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