Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier and registered sex offender, claimed to have intimate knowledge of President Donald Trump's views on public health policy in texts with Bill Gates' adviser, Melanie Walker. The messages, released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, show Epstein positioning himself as a middleman between the Trump White House and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Epstein, who had already pleaded guilty to state prostitution solicitation charges, appears to be passing information directly from Trump to Gates through an intermediary. In one text message, he claims to have knowledge of Trump's plans for domestic and global public health policy, including a new medical group to be announced to study veterans' affairs.
Epstein also seems to be familiar with Trump's personal interests, including his views on climate change and Ebola. He writes that Trump believes climate change is not an American problem, but rather a global issue, and that he thinks Bill Gates should stop trying to scare people about it.
The messages also show Epstein discussing the potential power of a surgeon general and how Gates can use his influence to make things happen. In one message, he tells Melanie to tell Gates that Trump is "free to call any time for inside baseball."
Melanie, who worked as an adviser to Gates at bgC3, the entity that would become Gates Ventures, does not respond to requests for comment. The Gates Foundation and Gates Ventures did not respond to requests for comment either.
The exchange between Epstein and Melanie raises questions about the level of communication between Trump's administration and Bill Gates' foundation, and whether there was any cooperation or coordination on issues related to public health policy.
Epstein, who had already pleaded guilty to state prostitution solicitation charges, appears to be passing information directly from Trump to Gates through an intermediary. In one text message, he claims to have knowledge of Trump's plans for domestic and global public health policy, including a new medical group to be announced to study veterans' affairs.
Epstein also seems to be familiar with Trump's personal interests, including his views on climate change and Ebola. He writes that Trump believes climate change is not an American problem, but rather a global issue, and that he thinks Bill Gates should stop trying to scare people about it.
The messages also show Epstein discussing the potential power of a surgeon general and how Gates can use his influence to make things happen. In one message, he tells Melanie to tell Gates that Trump is "free to call any time for inside baseball."
Melanie, who worked as an adviser to Gates at bgC3, the entity that would become Gates Ventures, does not respond to requests for comment. The Gates Foundation and Gates Ventures did not respond to requests for comment either.
The exchange between Epstein and Melanie raises questions about the level of communication between Trump's administration and Bill Gates' foundation, and whether there was any cooperation or coordination on issues related to public health policy.