By
Ava Berger
Bill Gates speaks during an event in New York City in September 2024. He is scheduled to testify before a House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein.Roy Rochlin/Getty Imageshide caption
Bill Gates is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee in June, adding to the list of prominent figures called before the committee in its investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates, who has denied having any knowledge of Epstein's crimes, will sit for a closed-door transcribed interview on June 10, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the details publicly. Gates' scheduled appearance was first reported byMSNOW.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi wassubpoenaedby the committee in March to discuss her role in overseeing the release of the Epstein files, but will not appear for her scheduled deposition on April 14.
In a letter to Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer, the committee chair, Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis said that "because Ms. Bondi no longer can testify in her official capacity as Attorney General, the Department's position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her to appear on April 14."
The House Oversight Committee said in a statement that the committee "will contact Pam Bondi's personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition."
California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement that Bondi "must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress. The survivors deserve justice."
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing on Jan. 15, in Washington, D.C.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Imageshide caption
Gates is one ofmany influential people namedin the Department of Justice documents about the disgraced financier. Appearing in the files is not necessarily an indication of criminal wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for Gates said in an emailed statement to NPR that Gates "welcomes the opportunity to appear 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 statement said.
Gates appears thousands of times in the Epstein files, allegedlymeetingwith Epsteinmultipletimesafter the financier's conviction in 2008 of sex crimes that involved minors, and at one pointtraveling on Epstein's private plane.
Epstein was arrested a second time in July 2019 on sex-trafficking charges. He died in prison about a month later.
