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Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee he had affairs with three women and believed Jeffrey Epstein considered using the information for blackmail. The transcript of his June 10 closed-door testimony was released this week.
The IndependentBill Gates named three women with whom he had affairs during testimony before the House Oversight Committee, stating he believed Jeffrey Epstein considered blackmailing him over the relationships. The Microsoft co-founder identified the women as bridge player Mila Antonova, nuclear physicist Karima Nigmatulina, and medical entrepreneur Dr Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt.
He said Epstein never succeeded in any extortion attempt.
Gates told the committee he met Epstein between 12 and 14 times plus two Skype calls over four years after being introduced in 2011 by former employee Dr Boris Nikolic. He said he believes Nikolic may have informed Epstein about two of the affairs. The transcript shows Gates addressing unsent 2013 draft emails in which Epstein made lurid allegations.
Gates stated he thinks Epstein compiled potential negative information, some of it false, in draft messages to himself.
“I think that Epstein, when he was writing emails to himself, took every potential negative thing he knew, and some that are completely false, and he put those into draft emails to himself.”
Gates denied ever having an STD or giving medicine covertly to anyone. He said it was possible he once expressed concern to Nikolic about whether he had contracted one.
Gates acknowledged he may have been in the presence of victims after meeting Epstein but said he never witnessed or participated in sexual misconduct. He expressed regret for not factoring in Epstein's 2008 Florida conviction to a greater degree. The committee also released testimony from Epstein's former executive assistant Lesley Groff, who said she booked appointments for him almost daily but denied scheduling any with people she believed were underage.
Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York City jail cell in August 2019. Being mentioned in files released by the Department of Justice does not imply wrongdoing.
ABC NewsA magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Venezuela on June 24 at 18:04 local time. Buildings collapsed in Caracas and tsunami threats were issued for several areas. The shaking was also felt in Bogotá.
The Japan TimesTemperatures across much of the continent exceeded 35 C on Wednesday, with France and Spain posting new national records. At least 94 million people faced the extreme conditions, and infrastructure not built for such heat amplified the effects.
SemaforLineShine in Shenzhen displaced El Capitan to claim the number-one position on the Top500 list released Tuesday. It is the first time since 2017 that a Chinese machine has led the rankings.