Bill Gates appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, where the Microsoft cofounder admitted that Jeffrey Epstein used his extramarital affairs as leverage to keep him close.

The billionaire told lawmakers that the disgraced financier knew about his marital infidelities and tried to use that information to pressure him into maintaining their association, though Gates stressed Epstein had ultimately failed.

In his prepared remarks, Gates insisted he “never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct.”

He said, “I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone.” Gates attempted to clarify that while Epstein may have sought friendship, he had no interest in pursuing one.

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Still, the testimony confirmed something most observers already suspected. Gates’ relationship with Epstein did not stem solely from the supposed philanthropic collaboration they once claimed.

The tech titan openly admitted that Epstein’s knowledge of his “unfaithful” behavior in marriage gave the convicted predator a point of pressure.

According to Gates, Epstein “sought to use information about my infidelities, in addition to many lies that he layered on top, to pressure me to reengage with him.”

Though Gates claimed Epstein’s effort failed, it was clear the threat itself was enough to leave a mark.

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Few were convinced that someone as savvy as Gates, who knew Epstein’s history of sex crimes, could have failed to understand who he was dealing with.

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Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, called it “a theme of using his power of information against others.”

Yet that observation hardly qualifies as new. Epstein built his empire on moral compromise, blackmail, and access to elites who thought their wealth and privilege placed them beyond consequence.

When Gates arrived at the Capitol, he seemed calm, even smiling, telling reporters he hoped his testimony would help bring justice for Epstein’s victims.

Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, said he wanted to understand the depth of the connection between Gates, Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Comer made clear that no one was accusing Gates of crimes but noted that legitimate questions remain about what Gates knew and when.

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Federal investigators have already released photos and emails showing Gates interacting with Epstein and other big names from finance and academia.

One 2011 photo showed Gates attending dinner at Epstein’s lavish Manhattan home alongside banker Jes Staley and former Harvard president Larry Summers.

Another photo showed Gates with his arm around a woman whose face was redacted in the released version.

Gates told lawmakers he first met Epstein in 2011, claiming he had been lured by promises of “billions of dollars for global health” projects funded by Epstein’s “tax and estate services” clients.

He acknowledged five meetings over a three year period until he “cut off contact” in late 2014 because there was no meaningful support from Epstein’s side.

Epstein and Gates also exchanged more than a dozen emails between 2013 and 2015, many of which included Epstein’s disturbing attempts to exploit Gates’ private life.

The Justice Department records even contained Epstein’s twisted claim that Gates sought help “to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls,” an accusation Gates’ representatives dismissed as “absolutely absurd and completely false.”

Still, it was strong enough for Gates to confess to his foundation staff that he had been unfaithful multiple times.

Investigative files referenced two affairs with Russian women, and divorce records later revealed that Gates faced allegations of more than twenty separate liaisons during his marriage to Melinda.

That background matters, especially given Epstein reportedly tried to use Gates’ relationship with a Russian bridge player, Mila Antonova, to pull him into a philanthropic venture that Epstein wanted to build with JP Morgan executives.

The Oversight Committee’s bipartisan investigation has been methodically uncovering the hidden links that connected wealthy elites to Epstein’s criminal operation.

Wednesday’s interview marked their fifteenth major witness session.

Both Comer and Democrat ranking member Garcia said further interviews would follow, including with prominent Epstein associates like attorney Alan Dershowitz, who has already volunteered to appear.

Dershowitz told The Post that he was willing to testify before the panel.

His involvement could shed more light on the scope of Epstein’s influence over public figures who had both money and power to lose.

The committee is also expected to call Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche to explain the Justice Department’s recent release of nearly three million files connected to the Epstein case.

Through it all, Gates has tried to portray himself as naive and deceived, insisting he only learned the full extent of Epstein’s depravity after the fact.

Yet he met with Epstein several years after the latter’s 2008 conviction on prostitution and child exploitation charges, a choice that baffled many.

Gates told reporters earlier this year, “In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him.” That admission may be true, but it was a very expensive brand of foolish.

For many Americans watching from outside the billionaire bubble, it is another reminder that the global elite often seem drawn to each other’s shadows.

They mingle in the same social circles, exchange the same favors, and believe the rules apply only to everyone else.

Gates may have escaped any legal blame, but morally, his ties to the monster he now condemns will not be forgotten.

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