Tech billionaire Bill Gates and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee in the coming weeks as part of its sprawling investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, two sources familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
Lutnick is set to sit for a transcribed interview on May 6, and Gates is slated to do the same on June 10, the two sources told MS NOW, which was first to report on Gates’ appearance.
Ted Waitt, who was in a romantic relationship with Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell for several years, is scheduled to appear before the committee for a transcribed interview on April 30; and Tova Noel, a corrections officer who was on duty when Epstein died in a federal jail in New York City in 2019, is slated to appear on May 18; the two sources said. And Lesley Groff, who was Epstein’s executive assistant, is slated to appear on June 9, one of the sources said.
MS NOW granted the sources anonymity to speak candidly about the committee’s schedule.
All five witnesses will sit for transcribed interviews after the committee requested their testimonies in letters sent on March 3. They are appearing voluntarily.
While that quintet of transcribed interviews is scheduled, questions continue to loom about the scheduled deposition for former Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom President Donald Trump fired last week. Following a bipartisan vote last month, the committee issued Bondi a subpoena, requesting that she appear for a deposition on April 14.
But after Trump ousted her from his Cabinet, questions mounted about whether Republicans on the panel would enforce the subpoena, and if Bondi would appear. Democrats and at least one Republican on the panel have called for her testimony, but committee leadership has been coy.
“Since Pam Bondi is no longer Attorney General, Chairman Comer will speak with Republican members and the Department of Justice about the status of the deposition subpoena and confer on next steps,” a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee told MS NOW in a statement last week.
Lutnick and Gates, meanwhile, are the latest high-profile individuals to appear before the panel, which has been investigating the crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, federal probes into the pair and the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files release, among other areas. Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and retail billionaire Les Wexner were deposed by the committee earlier this year.
Interest in Lutnick’s testimony skyrocketed after he confirmed, during a hearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, that he had lunch with Epstein on his island in 2012, despite previously saying he cut ties with him in 2005, and after Epstein was convicted of sex trafficking charges in 2008.
“I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation,” Lutnick testified.
“We were on family vacation. We were not a part. To suggest there was anything untoward about that in 2012 — I don’t recall why we did it, but we did,” he added.
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At another point in the hearing, he told senators, “I have nothing to hide.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., a member of the House Oversight Committee, threatened to force a vote on subpoenaing Lutnick following his testimony. But before she got there, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced that he would appear voluntarily.
“Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,” Comer wrote on X on March 3, the same day the panel requested his testimony. “I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee. I look forward to his testimony.”
Photos and mentions of Gates, meanwhile, have turned up in the Epstein files, deepening the committee’s interest in speaking with him.
The New York Times previously reported that Gates and Epstein met on a number of occasions in 2011, after Epstein’s conviction. Since then, the Microsoft co-founder has said it was “foolish” and a “mistake” to spend time with Epstein.
“In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him, and he sort of got time with various people by spending time with other people,” Gates told The Wall Street Journal last year. “I thought it would help me with global health, philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that, and it was just a huge mistake.”
Reached for comment on Gates’ June appearance before the House Oversight Committee, a spokesperson for the billionaire told MS NOW that he was not involved with Epstein’s crimes.
“Gates 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,” the spokesperson said.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
