House Republicans ask Bill Gates, Leon Black to testify on Jeffrey

House Republicans ask Bill Gates, Leon Black to testify on Jeffrey

House Republicans have requested billionaires Bill Gates and Leon Black to testify before Congress about their past ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The House Oversight Committee despatched letters Tuesday asking Gates, Black and Goldman Sachs’ outgoing common counsel Kathryn Ruemmler to seem before the panel because it investigates the Epstein recordsdata.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the committee’s chairman, has already interviewed Bill and Hillary Clinton as a part of the probe.

Comer said Tuesday that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has also agreed to testify about his ties to Epstein.

Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million for tax and property planning companies between 2012 and 2017, according to an outdoor investigation commissioned by Apollo. REUTERS

Gates just lately told workers at a Gates Foundation city corridor that he had affairs with two Russian women — including bridge participant Mila Antonova — while apologizing for his past affiliation with Epstein, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Gates insisted he “did nothing illicit” and said spending time with Epstein was “a huge mistake.”

A spokesperson for Gates told The Post on Wednesday that the Microsoft co-founder “welcomes the opportunity to appear” before the committee.

“While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work,” a rep for Gates told The Post.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has been requested by House Republicans to testify about his past conferences with Jeffrey Epstein as a part of a congressional investigation. Getty Images

Black, the co-founder of personal fairness large Apollo Global Management, paid Epstein $158 million for tax-planning and property advisory companies between 2012 and 2017, according to an outdoor legislation agency employed by Apollo.

Black, who stepped down as Apollo’s chief govt in 2021, has said he regretted his affiliation with Epstein and was unaware of his prison conduct.

“Mr. Black paid Epstein for tax and estate planning work and he had no awareness of Epstein’s criminal activity,” a spokesperson for Black told The Post on Wednesday.

“He looks forward to answering the committee’s questions, providing additional clarity and furthering their work.”

Black and his successor, Apollo CEO Marc Rowan, have been hit this week with a proposed shareholder class-action lawsuit accusing them of deceptive buyers about the agency’s dealings with Epstein.

The grievance filed in Manhattan federal courtroom alleges Apollo falsely denied in regulatory filings in 2021 and 2022 that it had performed enterprise with Epstein, even though he allegedly communicated steadily with senior management about issues tied to the agency.

Kathryn Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs’ outgoing common counsel and a former Obama White House lawyer, has said her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was strictly skilled. AP

Rowan, who succeeded Black as chief govt in 2021, has insisted the agency never had a enterprise relationship with Epstein and that his personal interactions have been restricted to the financier’s tax work for Black.

“I didn’t like him for my own reasons, he wasted my time,” Rowan said at a Bloomberg event Tuesday, including that “even from the grave, he’s wasting my time.”

A spokesperson for Apollo told The Post on Wednesday: “We believe this case is without merit.”

“Neither Mr. Rowan nor anyone else at Apollo (excluding Leon Black) had either a business or personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, as was confirmed by an independent, transparent and thorough investigation in 2021,” the company rep told The Post.

“There was no new information in the recent releases.”

Ruemmler, a former White House counsel under President Barack Obama who later turned Goldman Sachs’ common counsel, has said her relationship with Epstein was purely skilled.

Jeffrey Epstein, seen right here with longtime affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell, died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking fees. US District Court for the Southe

But emails later revealed the two exchanged pleasant messages and items, with Ruemmler at occasions referring to him as “Uncle Jeffrey” and “sweetie,” even as she has insisted she had no data of any prison exercise and regrets ever realizing him.

“Ms. Ruemmler welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee,” a spokesperson for Ruemmler told The Post.

“At the time she interacted with Jeffrey Epstein, she was a practicing criminal defense attorney and shared a client with him. She has done nothing wrong and had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity on his part.”

Ruemmler announced last month that she can be stepping down as Goldman’s top lawyer later this 12 months. Goldman declined to remark.

Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan has said the agency never had a enterprise relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and that his personal interactions with the financier have been restricted to tax work tied to co-founder Leon Black. REUTERS

Epstein was a rich financier and convicted intercourse offender who moved in elite political and enterprise circles before his arrest in 2019 on federal fees of working a sex-trafficking ring involving underage ladies.

He died later that 12 months in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial, in what authorities dominated a suicide.

Recently launched Justice Department recordsdata associated to the Epstein investigation have renewed scrutiny of his connections to highly effective figures in finance, politics and enterprise.

The paperwork embody emails, pictures and other information that have prompted congressional investigators to search testimony from a number of people who beforehand interacted with him.

Navigate the fast-paced world of enterprise with us. At TheGossipBlogger.com/enterprise, we offer well timed and insightful coverage on all the pieces from market tendencies and startup success tales to monetary news, entrepreneurship suggestions, and global financial shifts.

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a small enterprise proprietor, or a seasoned govt, our content is designed to inform, empower, and inspire your next transfer in the enterprise world.

Our editorial team dives deep into real-world methods, company profiles, and professional analysis to convey you articles that matter. We simplify advanced enterprise developments and highlight the innovations, challenges, and alternatives shaping industries today.

Make positive to bookmark our Business part and go to often — in a world that never stops shifting, staying informed is your largest benefit.