Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is among seven people the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked to testify about its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The others named in letters from committee chair James Comer are Lesley Groff, a former longtime executive assistant to Epstein; Sarah Kellen, a former Epstein employee; Kathryn Ruemmler, former White House counsel to President Barack Obama; Leon Black, co‑founder of Apollo Global Management; Doug Band, a longtime aide to former President Bill Clinton; and tech billionaire Ted Waitt, a former boyfriend of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell who attended Chelsea Clinton’s 2010 wedding as a guest of Maxwell.
Comer said the committee believes the seven “have information that will assist in its investigation,” which is examining alleged mismanagement of the federal investigation into Epstein and Maxwell, efforts by Epstein and Maxwell to curry favor or influence to protect illegal activity, and potential violations of ethics rules by elected officials. Testimony dates were scheduled from April 16 to June 9.
A Gates spokesperson said he planned to appear. “Gates welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee,” the spokesperson told CBS News. “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.”
Jennifer Connelly, a spokesperson for Ruemmler, said Ruemmler “welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee.” Connelly noted Ruemmler was a practicing criminal defense attorney who once shared a client with Epstein, saying she “has done nothing wrong and had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity on his part.” An attorney for Groff declined to comment. CBS News was seeking comment from Black, Band, Kellen and Waitt. None of the seven have been criminally charged in connection with Epstein.
The requests follow the Justice Department’s release beginning in December of millions of files related to its decadeslong investigation into Epstein. The department released the documents after Congress passed a bill in November, signed into law by President Trump, requiring their disclosure.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to state charges of soliciting prostitution; he served 13 months in jail and registered as a sex offender. A New York federal grand jury indicted Epstein on child sex trafficking charges in July 2019; he was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell weeks later in August 2019, and his death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of federal sex trafficking charges and later sentenced to 20 years in prison. The released files have revealed Epstein’s extensive ties to influential people that continued after his 2008 conviction.
Gates and the files
Gates apologized to staff at the Gates Foundation last week for ties to Epstein, which he said began in 2011 and continued through 2014. According to audio of that apology obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Gates said he and Epstein shared a private jet once and spent time together in Germany, France, New York and Washington.
Among the DOJ files were two emails Epstein sent to himself on July 18, 2013, containing unverified allegations that Gates had extramarital “sex with Russian girls” that resulted in a sexually transmitted infection requiring antibiotics, and that Gates sought to “surreptitiously give” antibiotics to his then‑wife Melinda Gates. Epstein’s emails appeared to be written on behalf of an employee of Gates who was resigning. A Gates spokesperson previously called the claims “absolutely absurd and completely false,” saying the documents show Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to “entrap and defame.” At the town hall reported by the Journal, Gates reportedly admitted to affairs, including with two Russian women.
Ruemmler and others in the files
Ruemmler, who served as White House counsel from 2011 to 2014 before joining Latham & Watkins and later Goldman Sachs, appears in DOJ files, including a December 2015 email in which she wrote she “adored” Epstein. White House records show Epstein asked Ruemmler in May 2015 to arrange a White House tour for filmmaker Woody Allen and his wife, Soon‑Yi, a tour that took place in December 2015. Ruemmler announced last month she would resign as general counsel of Goldman Sachs after the release of the files.
Leon Black’s communications with Epstein in the released materials show Epstein advising Black on ways to handle potential fallout from a six‑year affair with a Russian woman. In one September 2015 email, Epstein suggested hiring former law enforcement officers to present nondisclosure agreement terms to the woman. Documents show Black later signed an agreement that included payments of $100,000 per month for 15 years, forgiveness of a $1 million loan, and two million British pounds to help the woman obtain legal status in the U.K. Senate Finance Committee records also show Black paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning services. Black stepped down as Apollo chairman and CEO in 2021; a law firm retained by Apollo’s board cleared Black of wrongdoing in its review.
Reporting contributions
Laura Doan, Emmet Lyons, Graham Kates and Daniel Ruetenik contributed to this report.