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Lawyers investigating the Gates Foundation’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein didn’t have access to Bill Gates’s personal communications or review interactions with the billionaire’s private office, where two longtime employees had deep ties to the sex offender.
The scope of the probe by lawyers at WilmerHale was disclosed in a footnote to the report’s summary, which was released after a five-month review.
The review determined that Gates and foundation employees met with Epstein about 30 times over several years despite warnings from foundation staff. It found “no evidence” that the philanthropy—one of the largest in the world—paid Epstein or knew of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operations or criminal activities.
“WilmerHale did not have access to Mr. Gates’s personal communications and did not review Epstein’s interactions with Mr. Gates in a personal capacity or separate legal entities associated with Mr. Gates, including Gates Ventures and the Gates Foundation Trust,” according to the three-page summary made public this week by the Gates Foundation.
WilmerHale interviewed more than 50 current and former foundation employees—including Gates himself. The law firm didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gates has apologized over his Epstein ties, saying that it was a mistake to meet with Epstein and that he wasn’t involved in any illicit activity. He recently told Congress that he was sorry that he lent Epstein any credibility and hurt the reputation of the Gates Foundation.
In a statement this week, the Microsoft co-founder said that completing the review was a critical step in providing “the clarity that partners, employees, and grantees deserve.”
The Gates Foundation’s board said it would make several changes to bolster its governance and internal processes following the review.
Write to Emily Glazer at [email protected]