Gates says Epstein plotted to blackmail him over affairs, but no blackmail material surfaced

Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door session that Jeffrey Epstein sought to blackmail him by using knowledge of Gates’s extramarital affairs, with Epstein reportedly drafting ideas in emails but never sending anything that Gates would call blackmail. Gates stressed he was not blackmailed and described his relationship with Epstein as a mistake, while noting Epstein’s ability to raise funds for global health influenced his involvement and that he did not fully know the details of Epstein’s crimes.