Bill Gates hearing on Epstein files: Congressman says he'll question billionaire's 'relationship'

[0:06] All right. Well, thank you all for being here. Hopefully everybody can hear me okay. [0:11] We are about to begin the interview with Bill Gates. This will be our 15th interview. [0:18] There are a couple of things I want to mention about yesterday based on the testimony from [0:29] Ms. Groff, as well as a meeting that I had afterwards with several of the Epstein survivors. [0:38] I am going to ask Alan Dershowitz to come in. We will have questions for him. We're going to give him an [0:47] opportunity to come in and answer several questions that arose yesterday based on Ms. Groff's testimony [0:58] and some things that some of the Epstein survivors said. So we're proceeding along. Hopefully this [1:05] interview today will be productive and help us learn more and help us in our investigation [1:11] as we move forward. I'll be happy to answer a couple of questions. Well, the same information [1:21] I think other members of Congress have said. We just want to know about his relationship with [1:26] Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell. What did he see? Did he know what was going on? Was he involved in any of [1:34] this? So I'm sure as we ask questions, more questions will arise. But I will say this, [1:42] no one's accusing Bill Gates of any wrongdoing. And I certainly appreciate him coming in voluntarily. [1:48] Mr. Chairman. Thank you. So the investigation is still ongoing given you're now asking Mr. [1:53] Murchins to come in. Are there any plans to formally ask Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to come in? [1:58] I'm communicating with the Department of Justice. I would like for Todd Blanche to come in in July. [2:03] Mr. Chairman. Well, he's got, he's got, you know, I think we all know he has a big confirmation coming [2:10] up. So, but I've always wanted Blanche to come in. Now let me, let me be very clear. Todd Blanche came [2:17] in a month ago. He came in with Pam Bondi to answer questions from the Oversight Committee and the [2:25] Democrats stormed out and ran to you all to try to be the first to get on MSNBC and, and talk about [2:33] their outrage. What a missed opportunity for the Democrats. But, but Todd Blanche answered questions [2:38] that Republicans had for several hours, as did Ms. Bondi. But we brought Ms. Bondi back in and we're [2:47] working to bring Todd Blanche in. There were emails in the files relating to Bill Gates, [2:55] a draft email alleging there was some kind of a request to get medication for an STD type thing. [3:03] Is there potential for a criminal wrongdoing there asking someone to put forth a medication that may not [3:09] otherwise be available? I don't know about that, but that email will be addressed in the first hour of [3:15] questioning. I can assure you. We, the majority will have one hour of questioning. The minority will [3:19] have a one hour of questioning. I hope that you all review the transcripts of all these interviews [3:25] that we do and look at the depth of the questions that the Republicans asked versus the depth of the [3:31] questions that the Democrats asked. Yesterday, right, right off the bat, the Democrats asked questions [3:37] about Mar-a-Lago and Donald Trump and Donald Trump. And this is about the survivors of Epstein and [3:46] Maxwell. This is about trying to figure out how the government failed. And this goes back several [3:54] administrations, several attorneys general. This has definitely been a failure in justice. We're [4:00] trying to get the truth to the American people and we're trying to provide some type of justice for [4:05] the survivors. So, I really hope that you all are reviewing the transcripts because it's inevitable [4:13] that after every interview, the Democrats march out here. Actually, they tiptoe out here and they go and [4:18] tell you all this stuff. They're outraged that Lutnik said or that Bondi said. Well, then the transcript [4:24] comes out and no one ever questions on it. It's real frustrating because the Democrats have been nothing [4:31] but dead weight in this investigation. But I feel like we've accomplished a lot. We're bringing people in. [4:37] And one thing that's clear is many of these people have never been interviewed by the government. [4:44] They've never been interviewed by the FBI. They've never been interviewed by the Department of Justice. [4:48] So, this is the first time there's been a substantive investigation. And I'm happy with the work that we've [4:55] done thus far. It's disappointing because I think that all of us would agree that some of the things that [5:02] everyone we've brought in to interview have said are hard to believe. It was hard to believe some of the [5:08] things Ms. Groff said yesterday, especially with respect to scheduling the massages every day, [5:15] massive list of girls. That's hard to believe that she never suspected anything, but that's what she [5:22] testified. It's hard to believe Lex Wexner didn't know anything going on, but that's what he testified. [5:28] So, we're going to continue to bring people in and ask the tough questions. I hope you're reviewing the [5:35] transcripts to see the question. And then the last thing I want to add, we're also communicating, [5:40] or I am, and my staff, oversight staff, we're communicating with the survivors. We're making [5:46] sure the survivors read the transcripts. And if the survivors see any things that were said [5:55] in the depositions and interviews that aren't true, we're working with them to try to get evidence to [6:02] figure out if the witnesses were lying. So, this is a very substantive investigation. And hopefully today [6:11] we'll get some more information. And I think you've seen the list. We've got Staley and Leon Black, [6:18] who is a very big person of interest in this investigation, coming in very soon. So, we'll [6:25] brief you. Just be careful what you hear from certain members that stay in there for five minutes [6:31] and trot out, talking points that I have found not to be true. And hopefully if you read the transcripts, [6:37] you'll see they're not true. Mr. Chairman, just on the overall timeline, [6:40] I mean, we're already in mid-June. What is your expectation for what you can really get done [6:45] before the end of the year here? Well, that's true. We're on a time clock. [6:49] We've got Leon Black coming in and Doug Band this month. Then we have Kathy Rumbler, Jess Staley. [6:56] And as I said, we're going to try to bring in Dershowitz. And hopefully we'll hear from [7:01] Todd Blanche. So, we'd like to do all that in July. Do you want to hear from Blanche in a transcribed [7:06] interview or how are you hoping? We just have questions for Mr. Blanche. But again, I want to make [7:14] sure everyone gets this. He came in and if the Democrats had stayed, Pam Bondi said during that [7:21] briefing that Todd Blanche was the one in charge of the Epson investigation. That wasn't news when [7:28] Bondi came in for her interview. That wasn't news. She said that in the briefing. But the Democrats [7:35] weren't there because they tiptoed out to cry to you all. So, I think that the main thing that we [7:45] have for Blanche is the question on what, if any, documents are left out. So, that's the main question [7:53] that we have for Blanche. He's already come in once. Are you just questioning Mr. Gates' personal [8:00] conduct or the Gates Foundation entirely? Well, I'm sure there'll be lots of questions from lots of [8:06] different members. I know power, but that email is definitely going to be addressed. I mean, I think [8:14] that everybody in America has questions about that email. We'll see. We'll see. I don't want to say [8:22] anything to spook the attorneys who are watching this right now to go on. So, thank you all. We'll [8:27] be out and give you a briefing soon. It'll be easier if we just go in.