Politics

House Oversight Committee Releases Epstein Probe Transcripts for Bill Gates and Lesley Groff

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Jun 24, 2026

THE BARE STORY

The House Oversight Committee released transcripts on Tuesday of closed-door interviews with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein's former executive assistant, Lesley Groff. The testimonies, conducted earlier this month, are part of a congressional investigation into the federal government's handling of its cases against Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019.

During his June 10 interview, Gates stated his interactions with Epstein between 2011 and 2014 were strictly aimed at securing philanthropic funding. Gates testified that he never witnessed Epstein engage in criminal behavior and expressed regret over the association. He told lawmakers that after he severed ties, Epstein drafted correspondence to potentially blackmail him using knowledge of extramarital affairs and claims about a sexually transmitted disease. However, Gates confirmed these threats were never directly sent to him.

In her June 9 testimony, Groff, who worked for Epstein for over eighteen years, denied any awareness of his sex crimes. She testified that she believed she was scheduling legitimate massages and travel arrangements. While Department of Justice records indicate multiple victims accused Groff of scheduling abusive encounters—including one minor who claimed to have explicitly informed Groff of her underage status—Groff disputed the allegations. Groff was named as a potential co-conspirator in Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement but was never charged with a crime.

Groff told the committee she maintained her employment after Epstein's 2008 incarceration because he claimed he was framed and because high-profile individuals continued associating with him. As part of her testimony, Groff stated she connected phone calls between Epstein and Donald Trump multiple times a year. Trump has not been charged with any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has previously maintained that he ended his relationship with the financier years before his death.

Same Facts. Different Perspectives.

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Perspective by Grok

• Preserve Evidentiary Due Process Lesley Groff’s enduring presumption of innocence, having never been charged despite her inclusion in the 2007 non-prosecution agreement, highlights the absolute necessity of the rule of law. Traditionalists emphasize that the justice system must operate on prosecutable facts rather than public allegations or guilt by association. Her continued employment underscores why formal legal determinations—not mob consensus—must dictate social and professional boundaries.

• Condemn Criminal Extortion Tactics Epstein’s drafted correspondence attempting to blackmail Bill Gates over extramarital affairs and medical claims reveals the inherently predatory nature of his enterprise against private citizens. This framework views Gates not as a complicit actor, but as a target of a bad actor seeking to subvert civic order through illicit leverage. Protecting citizens and enterprise leaders from baseless extortion is a fundamental requirement for maintaining a stable, lawful society.

• Anchor the Oversight Mandate The core purpose of the congressional investigation is to audit the federal government’s administrative handling of the Epstein case, not to launch a sprawling partisan fishing expedition. Traditionalists warn against weaponizing transcripts to impugn uncharged political figures like Donald Trump based merely on connected phone calls. Diluting the probe's focus away from strict institutional accountability risks destabilizing the legitimacy of congressional oversight and turning it into a tool for political theater.

How it may affect me

As a U.S. reader:

• In the short term, this ongoing federal probe may affect public trust in the justice system by highlighting debates over whether the government applies evidentiary standards and due process equally to all citizens.

• Over the long term, congressional scrutiny of the 2007 non-prosecution agreement could lead to administrative reforms regarding how the Department of Justice processes victim testimonies and handles accomplice liability.

• The committee's actions may influence the future legitimacy and scope of congressional oversight, establishing precedents for whether federal investigations focus primarily on institutional audits or expand to examine the associations of private and uncharged political figures.

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