Bill Gates tells Congress relationship with Epstein ‘error in judgement’: House Oversight Democrat

[0:00] Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates appeared before the House Oversight Committee today [0:03] for closed-door testimony about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after [0:08] his name appeared hundreds of times in the Epstein files. Gates has not been accused of [0:14] wrongdoing and said he knew nothing of Epstein's crimes. Earlier, telling reporters he hopes his [0:19] testimony helps find justice for Epstein's survivors. Joining me now is Democratic [0:24] Congressman James Walkinshaw of Virginia, who sits on the House Oversight Committee and was [0:28] able to question Mr. Gates today. Congressman, thanks so much for joining me. Really appreciate [0:33] it. Thanks for having me. I want to start big picture. What was your biggest takeaway? You were [0:39] able to question Mr. Gates. What came of it? Well, Mr. Gates's testimony today, I think, was [0:46] consistent with what he said publicly about his interactions with Epstein, the meetings and [0:53] dinners that they had where he hoped that Epstein would be serious about supporting his public health [1:01] and philanthropic efforts. He professed no knowledge of the crimes that Epstein was committing and said [1:11] that he was not ever even introduced to any of Epstein's assistants, some of the young women that we now [1:18] know Epstein was abusing. And are you confident that Mr. Gates shared the whole truth with the [1:25] committee? I found him to be credible. I didn't get the sense that he was hiding anything. Obviously, [1:34] it's impossible to know whether in the back of his mind, as he was having dinner with Epstein or [1:40] meeting with Epstein, even after Epstein was convicted of a sex crime, whether in the back of [1:47] his mind, he had suspicions that some of the young women who were Epstein's assistants were actually [1:52] being abused. That's impossible to know. But he did answer questions. Everything he said, as far as I [1:59] can tell, is consistent with what's in the files and in the public record. One of the aspects that does [2:05] seem a little inconsistent, Mr. Gates said he didn't fully understand the extent of Mr. Epstein's crimes [2:10] when he engaged with him on philanthropic work back in 2011. That was after Epstein was convicted [2:15] of soliciting a minor. How do you square that? Yeah, he said he knew that Epstein had been convicted of [2:25] some kind of sexual misconduct, but that he didn't research the details of it. And he regretted [2:33] not researching the details of it. Obviously, that is a huge, massive error in judgment, not just to [2:40] not research the details, but to have this relationship or engagement with Epstein, even [2:47] after you knew he was convicted of that crime. He acknowledged that as an error in judgment that he [2:54] regrets. Let me ask you about something that Oversight Chairman James Comer said. He is now saying he wants [3:03] Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche to testify in July. Let me play a little bit of what he had to say [3:09] today. Now, let me, let me be very clear. Todd Blanche came in a month ago. He came in with Pam [3:18] Bondi to answer questions from the Oversight Committee and the Democrats stormed out and ran to [3:25] you all to try to be the first to get on MSNBC and, and talk about their outbreak. What a missed [3:31] opportunity for the Democrats. How do you respond to that, Congressman? Well, look, Chairman Comer tried [3:39] to arrange for Pam Bondi and her sidekick at the time, Todd Blanche to speak behind closed doors in an [3:47] unofficial briefing with no transcript, no record. The media, the world, the American public would never [3:55] have known what was said in that room if Democrats participated in it. That's why we walked out, because [4:02] we want to end this coverup. We want transparency. When Todd Blanche comes before our committee in July, [4:08] not only should there be a transcript, but it should be on video so the American people can see and judge [4:13] for themselves whether he's telling the truth about his role in this coverup. James Comer doesn't want [4:19] to see that happen. Democrats like myself on the committee do. Have you gotten assurances there will [4:24] be a transcript, in fact? We have not gotten any assurances. Just today, we learned that Chairman Comer [4:30] decided after getting pressured by Democrats to ask Todd Blanche to come in. We know nothing [4:38] about the circumstances. We're going to be pushing for it to be videotaped under oath so the world can [4:44] see and judge for themselves. All right. I do want to ask you about this new reporting from Jonathan [4:49] Swan and Maggie Haberman at The New York Times. They detail a situation room meeting with administration [4:55] officials about how exactly to deal with the Epstein files. I want to read you part of this. They say, [5:00] quote, Behind the scenes, the Epstein crisis was paralyzing the Trump administration [5:04] to a far greater extent than the public knew. It was consuming the highest ranks of the [5:11] administration. What was your reaction to reading that? And do you think that administration [5:16] officials need to come and be questioned by the committee? I think it details the desperate [5:22] efforts at the highest levels of the White House to cover this up. And what are they covering up? [5:27] They're covering up Donald Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. And Donald Trump has lied [5:32] time after time after time. He said he had no relationship. We learned by some accounts they [5:38] were best friends, spent a lot of time together. He said he never flew on Epstein's jets. We learned [5:43] from the files he flew on the jets four times. The files include allegations against Donald Trump, [5:49] uncorroborated allegations, but allegations. He continues to lie about his relationship [5:55] with Jeffrey Epstein. And the White House has worked for a year now to cover it up. It is absolutely [6:01] outrageous what they have done. Congressman, I want to shift gears here a little bit. Turn to [6:07] the Senate race in Maine. Senate candidate Graham Plattner won his primary last night, as you know, [6:13] after facing a swirl of controversies, including accusations of being physically threatening [6:18] to ex-girlfriends, repeatedly lying to his campaign staff. He's denied claims of physical [6:23] violence. Are you comfortable with Mr. Plattner representing the Democratic Party in Maine? [6:29] Well, when I look at candidates for office or candidates for any job who have made mistakes [6:36] in their past, the question for me is, have you acknowledged and taken responsibility for those [6:41] mistakes and grown as a human being? I think Graham Plattner has demonstrated he's taken some [6:47] responsibility. He hopefully has grown as a human being. You can contrast that with Ken Paxton, [6:53] who's running for the Senate in Texas, who was impeached by his own Republicans in the Texas [6:58] legislature because he's wildly corrupt. And he continues to deny that and take no responsibility [7:04] for his actions. So Graham Plattner needs to continue to take responsibility and to grow as a person. [7:10] I think if he does that, Maynard will respond well to it in November. [7:13] Well, he had initially said basically that all of the controversial information about him had come [7:20] out. And then it was just in the past few weeks that there were yet new allegations that he had [7:26] mistreated and been aggressive toward ex-girlfriends. Does that for you raise concerns about his credibility? [7:35] Absolutely. I mean, look, I think we have to take seriously those allegations and his treatment of [7:43] women that he was in relationships with. Obviously, for me, any corroboration of domestic violence or [7:52] abuse is a red line. I don't think that's where we are right now. But he's going to have to continue to [7:59] answer those questions and be open and honest about both his past and who he is now as a human being. [8:05] Just very quickly, as a Democrat, and obviously Democrats want to win back not just the House, [8:09] but the Senate, how concerned are you that there could be more information that comes out [8:13] about him that's damaging? [8:15] It's hard to say. Obviously, a fair amount of information has come out. Republicans could be [8:21] sitting on more information. Look, there's a long time between now and November. I think in all of these [8:27] Senate races, there are going to be surprises. I think we'll probably get more information about [8:31] Ken Paxton and the depths of his corruption in Texas, the circumstances of his divorce, [8:38] and some of the allegations made against him that could happen in Texas. Could it happen in Maine [8:43] a little bit more, perhaps? [8:44] All right. Congressman Walkinshaw, thank you so much for your time, [8:48] your perspective. Really appreciate it. [8:50] Thank you. Thanks for having me. [8:52] We thank you for watching. And remember, [8:54] stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.