Melinda French Gates on Bill Gates in Epstein files: 'Painful times in my marriage'
www.bbc.com
She said her ex-husband and others named in the Epstein files needed to answer whatever questions remain.

Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates has said her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, being named in new files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein dredged up “painful times in my marriage”.

She told an NPR podcast she feels “unbelievable sadness” about the Epstein allegations and that the people named in the records, including her former husband, need to answer to it.

“I am so happy to be away from all the muck,” she said. The couple divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.

Records released by the US justice department include an allegation by Epstein that Bill Gates caught a sexually transmitted disease. He has called the claim “absolutely absurd”.

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    125·
    2 days ago

    All I’m hearing is “she fucking knew what was going on and didn’t say shit”. IANAL, but does that equal an accessory or obstruction charge or what?

    • JChildermass@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      2 hours ago

      There are no crimes being alleged here, just an affair with an adult woman, which isn’t illegal, so nothing you could charge Bill with, nevermind Melinda. From Forbes: “No documents allege Gates was involved with wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or had knowledge of the financier’s alleged sex trafficking”.

      The only thing it does contain that could be criminal is an allegation that Bill requested antibiotics to give to Melinda to treat an STD without her knowledge. But this is just an allegation in an email that Epstein wrote to himself, for some reason, after Gates had cut contact with him, seemingly from the perspective of “Boris”. Presumably Gates’ advisor Boris Nikolic.

      The email is both to and from Epstein, but says in one part that if he and Gates were to trade places he would have said “Boris, this is not your fault” and given him a house and 5 years’ pay. Then it says “…what I did receive however was an unfriendly strongly worded email, telling me how employable I am and that I should not look to you for any significant financial help in the future, TO add insult to the injury you them implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis.” (No such emails from Gates are in the Epstein files). Then a third email also to himself saying he was quitting. (Nikolic appears to have continued to work with Gates for years after that.) Honestly it doesn’t seem very credible to me that Nikolic, a Harvard trained science advisor for Gates, would have asked Jeffery Epstein to write such an email to Gates on his behalf. Kinda seems like weird shit Epstein made up because he was angry about being dumped by Gates who he had been angling to get a bunch of money from as part of a philanthropy deal (Epstein promised Gates he could get a bunch of funds donated for his foundation, but said he wanted a kickback out of any funding he secured.)

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        52·
        2 days ago

        Imagine being the lawyer who delivered that ultimatum to her.

        Also, isn’t active concealment of a crime grounds for disbarment?

        Also also, if “not getting a good settlement” is really what deterred her, she’s just as guilty in my eyes. I’d think “wow so my husband is an enthusiastic pedophile” is grounds for just getting the fuck out of the marriage by any means possible while signing as little as possible, going to the Feds, and then simultaneously opening a massive civil lawsuit against him for psychological damage and abuse because he’s a fucking pedophile.

        Her tacitly helping to conceal this shit makes her an accessory to systematic pedophilic sexual abuse, at the very least, in my eyes.