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Melinda French Gates says Bill Gates 'has to answer' for being in the Epstein files

Melinda French Gates spoke out for the first time since the release of Epstein files that contained mentions of her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Melinda Gates during an interview in 2025. (Chona Kasinger / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

In an interview with NPR's "Wild Card" podcast on Tuesday, Melinda French Gates said she felt "unbelievable sadness" seeing her ex-husband's name mentioned in the new batch of filesreleased on Friday by the Justice Department.

"Whatever questions remain there ... for those people, and for even my ex-husband, they need to answer to those things, not me," she said. "And I am so happy to be away from all the muck that was there."

"No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him. No girl," she added. "I mean, it's just — it's beyond heartbreaking. I remember being those ages those girls were. I remember my daughters being those ages."

Bill Gates was one of several of the world's richest and most prominent men mentioned in the millions of files released by the Justice Department on Friday in connection with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a series of emails from 2013 that Epstein sent to himself, he appeared to suggest that Bill Gates was having an extramarital affair and seeking illicit drugs.

In a statement to NBC News, a spokesperson for Bill Gates denied the allegations. "These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false," the statement said. "The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame."

In one of the emails, Epstein wrote that he had decided to resign from a role he had with the Gates Foundation and BG3, a think tank founded by Bill Gates, because he got "caught up in a severe martial dispute between Melinda and Bill."

"I have the greatest respect for my friend of 7 years, and wish them both well," Epstein wrote.

With multiple typos, Epstein wrote of his relation ship with Gates: "In my role as his right hand I had been asked on mulitple occassion and in hindsight , wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate , to the ethically unsound and had been repeatedly asked to do other things that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal."

Epstein described those activities as "helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilictating his illicit trysts, with married women,to being asked to provide adderal."

Melinda and Bill Gates were married for 27 years before theydivorced in 2021.She later said that her ex-husband had an affair with a Microsoft staffer in 2019. Sheresigned from the Gates Foundationas its co-chair in 2024. Bill Gates admitted to the affair in a statement toThe New York Timesin 2021 and toldNBC Newslast year, "I have responsibility for causing a lot of pain to my family."

"I had to leave my marriage. I wanted to leave my marriage. I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation," Melinda French Gates said on Tuesday. "So it's just sad. That's the truth"

Among the other high-profile men mentioned in the Epstein files are President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, former Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.

Trump, Musk and Clinton have denied wrongdoing and have not been accused by authorities of any crime in connection to Epstein. Andrew has denied preying on young women allegedly supplied to him by Epstein and has also not been criminally charged, but has been stripped of his title and evicted from his mansion near Windsor Castle because of his friendship with the fallen financier.

Epstein's former girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only person to have been charged and convicted of crimes associated with Epstein.

Epstein died behind bars while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

Melinda French Gates said on Tuesday the details about Bill Gates in the Epstein files are difficult for her because it "brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage."

"I purposely pushed it away and I moved on," she said. "I'm in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life."

"For me, I've been able to move on in life," she said. "And I hope there's some justice for those women now."

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 03, 2026

Melinda French Gates says Bill Gates 'has to answer' for being in the Epstein files

Melinda French Gates spoke out for the first time since the release of Epstein files that contained mentions of her ex-hu...

L.A. stopped a couple from demolishing Marilyn Monroe's home. Now, they're suing

A Brentwood couple is suing the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass, claiming their constitutional rights were violated when city officials blocked them from demolishing the home where Marilyn Monroe died in 1962.

In a 37-page complaint that accuses the city of collusion and bias,the lawsuitfiled by homeowners Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank claims L.A. "deprived Plaintiffs of their intended demolition of the house and the use and enjoyment of their Property without any actual benefit to the public."

It's yet another chapter in a saga surrounding the fate ofthe famous property, which began in 2023 when Milstein, a wealthy real estate heiress, and Bank, a reality TV producer with credits including "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," bought the home for $8.35 million. They own the property next door and hoped to tear down Monroe's place to expand their estate.

The pair quickly obtained demolition permits from the Department of Building and Safety, but once their plans became public, an outcry erupted. A legion of historians, Angelenos and Monroe fans claimed the 1920s haunt, where the actor died in 1962, is an indelible piece of the city's history.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents L.A.'s 11th Council District where the home is located, said she received hundreds of calls and emails urging her to protect it. In September 2023, sheheld a news conferencedressed as Monroe — bright red lipstick, bobbing blond hair — urging the City Council to declare it a landmark.

The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commissionstarted the landmark application processin January 2024, barring the owners from destroying the house in the meantime. L.A. City Council unanimously voted to designate it as a historic cultural monument a few months later, officially saving it from destruction.

It's not the first legal challenge brought by Milstein and Bank. The pairsued the cityin 2024, accusing the city of "backdoor machinations" in preserving a house that doesn't deserve to be a historic cultural monument.

An L.A. Superior Court Judge threw out the suit in September 2025, calling it "an ill-disguised motion to win so they can demolish the home."

The latest lawsuit includes a variety of damages, claiming the property's monument status has turned it into a tourist attraction, bringing trespassers who leap over the walls surrounding the property. In November, burglars broke into the home searching for memorabilia, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit accuses the city of taking no efforts to stop trespassers and failing to compensate the owners for their loss of use and enjoyment of the property. It also notes that the homeowners offered to pay to relocate the home, but the city ignored them.

An aerial view of two houses, each with a pool and lush greenery

The feud has stirred up a larger conversation on what exactly is worth protecting in Southern California, a region loaded with architectural marvels and Old Hollywood haunts swirling with celebrity legend and gossip.

Fans claim the house, located on 5th Helena Drive, is too iconic to be torn down. Monroe bought it for $75,000 in 1962 and died there six months later, the only home she ever owned by herself. The phrase "Cursum Perficio" — Latin for "The journey ends here" — adorns tile on the front porch, adding to the property's lore.

Milstein and Bank claim it has been remodeled so many times over the years, with 14 different owners and more than a dozen renovation permits issued over the last 60 years, that it bears no resemblance to its former self. Some Brentwood locals consider it a nuisance because fans and tour buses flock to the address for pictures, even though the only thing visible from the street is the privacy wall.

"There is not a single piece of the house that includes any physical evidence that Ms. Monroe ever spent a day at the house, not a piece of furniture, not a paint chip, not a carpet, nothing," their previous lawsuit claimed.

With their latest lawsuit, Milstein and Bank are seeking a court order allowing them to demolish the house and compensation for the decline in property value after the city's decision to declare it a monument.

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared inLos Angeles Times.

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 03, 2026

L.A. stopped a couple from demolishing Marilyn Monroe's home. Now, they're suing

A Brentwood couple is suing the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass, claiming their constitutional rights were viola...

Collision between migrant speedboat, Greek coast guard vessel leaves at least 15 dead

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off the eastern Aegean island of Chios has killed at least 15 people, the coast guard said late Tuesday, while a search and rescue operation involving patrol boats, a helicopter and divers was underway for potentially missing people.

The bodies of 14 people — 11 men and three women — were recovered from the sea, the coast guard said, while another 25 migrants, including about 11 children, were rescued and transported to a hospital on Chios, as were two coast guard officers who were injured in the incident.

One of the injured women later died in hospital, the coast guard added, bringing the total death toll to at least 15.

The total number of people who had been on board the speedboat was not immediately clear, and a search and rescue operation involving four patrol vessels, an air force helicopter and a private boat carrying divers was underway for potentially missing passengers.

Video footage by a local news site showed at least one person being carried in a blanket from a boat moored on the side of a jetty into a waiting coast guard vehicle with blue flashing lights, as others appear to lead two children, one of them limping, toward the car.

The coast guard did not immediately have further information on exactly how the collision occurred.

Michalis Giannakos, the head of Greece's public hospital workers' union, said staff at the hospital in Chios were all on alert to handle the sudden influx of injured and were on standby for potentially more people. Speaking on Greece's Open TV channel, Giannakos said several of the injured required surgery.

Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.Fatal accidents are a common occurrence. Many undertake the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the eastern Aegean. But increased patrols and allegations ofpushbacks— summary deportations without allowing for asylum applications — by Greek authorities have reduced crossing attempts.

Greece, along with several other European Union countries, has been tightening its regulations on migration. In December, the European Union wasoverhauling its migration system, including streamlining deportations and increasing detentions.

There has long been a fierce debate among EU members about migration. Since a surge in asylum-seekers and other migrants to Europe a decade ago, public debate on the issue has shifted and far-right parties have gained political power. EUmigration policies have hardened, and the number of asylum-seekers is down from record levels.

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 03, 2026

Collision between migrant speedboat, Greek coast guard vessel leaves at least 15 dead

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off the eas...

Goldman Sachs' top lawyer accepted gifts from 'Uncle Jeffrey' Epstein, documents show

By Arasu Kannagi Basil and Saeed Azhar

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler accepted gifts from late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and advised him on how to address press inquiries regarding his crimes, according to a Reuters review of emails among millions of documents the U.S. Department of Justice released last week.

Ruemmler, who was ‌also White House counsel during the Obama administration, referred to Epstein in emails as "Uncle Jeffrey" and received gifts from him including wine and a handbag, the documents ‌show.

Ruemmler had a large number of communications with Epstein from 2014 to 2019, even after the disgraced financier's 2008 guilty plea for procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution, the documents showed.

These communications included advising Epstein on how to respond to a media query in 2019 concerning the alleged special legal treatment he received because of his connections, the emails show.

"I was a defense attorney when I ⁠dealt with Jeffrey Epstein," Ruemmler said in ‌a statement on Tuesday. "I got to know him as a lawyer and that was the foundation of my relationship with him.

"I had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part, and I did ‍not know him as the monster he has been revealed to be," she continued. "These decade-old private emails you are selectively referencing and pruriently reporting on have nothing to do with my work at Goldman Sachs."

Goldman spokesperson Tony Fratto said in an email that Epstein often offered unsolicited favors and gifts to many business contacts.

Goldman has backed Ruemmler in the past, with CEO David Solomon calling her "an excellent general counsel."

Fratto has ‌said Goldman understood the nature of Ruemmler's prior job as a white-collar defense lawyer, and was satisfied after conducting its own diligence.

RUEMMLER RECEIVED GIFTS FROM EPSTEIN, DOCUMENTS SHOW

The newly released documents provided more details about Epstein's ties to prominent people in politics, finance and academia, both before and after his 2008 guilty plea.

Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2019. He died in his Manhattan jail cell the following month, in what New York City's chief medical examiner called a suicide.

In 2018, a third party, whose name the ⁠government redacted, emailed Ruemmler to say that Epstein wanted to buy a band for her Apple Watch.

"I love the Hermes one!" she responded. "If truly okay with him to do the Hermes, I would love the 40 mm, stainless Hermes with bleu indigo swift leather double tour."

In 2019, she thanked Epstein for more gifts.

"Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey ‍boots, handbag, and watch!" Ruemmler wrote.

Bloomberg and ⁠the Financial Times earlier reported on the email exchanges.

In another set of emails from 2016, Epstein asked Ruemmler what Donald Trump, who later became U.S. president, should say when asked questions about him.

Ruemmler responded that Trump should say: "I knew Epstein ⁠professionally and always had positive dealings with him. I don't know anything about his personal legal issues other than what I have read in public reports, ‌and therefore don't have any comment."

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Additional ‌reporting by Jonathan Stempel, Editing by Lananh Nguyen and Lisa Shumaker)

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 03, 2026

Goldman Sachs' top lawyer accepted gifts from 'Uncle Jeffrey' Epstein, documents show

By Arasu Kannagi Basil and Saeed Azhar Feb 3 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler accept...

US shoots down Iranian drone that 'aggressively' approached an aircraft carrier, military says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approachingthe aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincolnin the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, threatening to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action toget Iran to the negotiating table.

The drone "aggressively approached" the aircraft carrier with "unclear intent" and kept flying toward it "despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters," Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement.

The shootdown occurred within hours of Iranian forces harassing a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said.

The developments could escalatethe heightened tensions between the longtime adversariesas President Donald Trump has threatened to use military action first overIran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protestsand then to try to get the country to makea deal over its nuclear program. Trump's Republican administration hasbuilt up military forces in the region, sending the aircraft carrier, guided-missile destroyers, air defense assets and more to supplement its presence.

The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran's southern coast, Hawkins said. No American troops were harmed, and no U.S. equipment was damaged, the military's statement noted.

Iranian state media reported that Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is investigating the "interruption" of the drone. Semi-official Tasnim news agency posted on its Telegram that before the footage cut out, the drone was able to successfully transfer the images it took back to Iran.

US says Iran also harassed a merchant vessel

After the shootdown, Revolutionary Guard forces harassed the merchant vessel Stena Imperative, the U.S. military said. Two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship "at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker," Hawkins' statement said.

The destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the Stena Imperative "with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force," the statement said, adding that the merchant vessel was now sailing safely.

Talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials are still planned, White House and Iranian officials said.

Trump would not be drawn on where talks would take place, but he told reporters that "we are negotiating with them right now." He also noted the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June and said, "I don't think they want that happening again."

IranianPresident Masoud Pezeshkiansaid Tuesday that he instructed the country's foreign minister to "pursue fair and equitable negotiations" with the U.S., marking one of the first clear signs from Tehran that it wants to try to negotiate with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also told state TV that the talks were still expected in the next few days but that the details, including where they will take place, were still being discussed. Baghaei said Turkey and Oman, among other regional countries, have offered to host the talks, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

Tensions began to rise again between the U.S. and Iran as the Islamic Republic spent weeksquelling proteststhat began in late December against growing economic instability before broadening into a challenge to the country's ruling theocracy.

Trump had promised in early January to "rescue" Iranians from their government's protest crackdown beforestarting to pressure Tehran againto make a deal over its nuclear program. That is even as the Republican president insists Iranian nuclear sites were "obliterated" inU.S. strikes in June.

Turkey had been working behind the scenesto make the talks happen there later this week as Witkoff is traveling in the region. A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process.

US military builds up presence in the region

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has been moving a growing number of assets into the region over the past several weeks, including the Lincoln and several destroyers, whicharrived last week.

The carrier strike group, which brought roughly 5,700 additional service members, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region.

Analysts of flight-tracking data also have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes heading to the region.

The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, like a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the U.S.bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar days after the strikes.

The U.S. has several bases in the Middle East, includingAl Udeid, which hosts thousands of American troops and is the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command.

Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 03, 2026

US shoots down Iranian drone that 'aggressively' approached an aircraft carrier, military says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approachingthe aircraft carrier USS Abraham...