FT: Epstein emails on STD-infested Bill Gates released by US Justice Dept

Key topics:A large batch of Epstein-related files was released, with officials saying redactions were used to protect victims.Emails attributed to Jeffrey Epstein include allegations involving Bill Gates; Gates’s spokesperson rejects the claims.The release also surfaces exchanges involving Elon Musk, and triggers pushback from politicians like Robert Garcia who argue more material remains unreleased.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Zehra Munir in New York, James Politi in Washington and Stephen Morris in San Francisco.Emails from an account that appeared to belong to Jeffrey Epstein claimed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tried to hide a sexually transmitted disease from his wife Melinda after having sex with “Russian girls”.In one email that Epstein seems to have sent to his own account — one of 3mn pages of files released by the Department of Justice on Friday — the late sex offender also appears to take issue with Gates for ending their relationship.“TO add insult to injury you then subsequently with tears in your eyes, implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you with antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda, and the description of your penis,” the message says.The release of the documents was announced by Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney-general, and comes more than a month after the December 19 deadline that was set in legislation mandating that the entire trove of documents related to Epstein be released.So far, the files have offered few new revelations of the links between Epstein and Donald Trump.But they have exposed Epstein’s connections with powerful figures, including former US president Bill Clinton, Lord Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US, billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk and Gates.Another email reads: “I have been asked and wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate, to the ethically unsound . . . From helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women, to being asked to provide adderall fro [sic] bridge tournaments.”A spokesperson for Gates said the claims were “absolutely absurd and completely false”.“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,” the person added.The Trump administration had initially resisted the publication of all the Epstein files but backed down after bipartisan pressure, including from the president’s allies on the right flank of the Republican Party.The justice department has insisted it could not release all the files before December 19 because it needed to comb through the documents to protect victims with redactions.“We redacted every woman depicted in any image or video, with the exception of Ms Maxwell,” Blanche said, referring to Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in his criminal activities. “We did not redact images of any men, unless it was impossible to redact the woman without also redacting the man.”The deputy attorney-general also sought to defend the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files from critics, including victims of the late sex offender, who have attacked the government for withholding the publication of all the documents for months.“To the extent that there’s frustration, I understand where that comes from just from what we know about Mr Epstein,” Blanche said. “I hope that the work that the men and women within this department have done over the past two months, hopefully, is able to bring closure.”But Democrats accused the DoJ of continuing to conceal some of the material, saying the full trove of documents amounted to 6mn pages.Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, said: “Donald Trump and his Department of Justice have now made it clear that they intend to withhold roughly 50 per cent of the Epstein files, while claiming to have fully complied with the law. This is outrageous and incredibly concerning.”Musk appears in several of the newly released emails, apparently messaging with Epstein long after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to charges of procuring a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008.On Christmas Day in 2012, the documents show that Musk asked Epstein about a party. “I really want to hi= the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose,” he wrote. “The invitation is=much appreciated, but a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what=l’m looking for.”Epstein replied: “Understood, I will see you on st Barth, the ratio on my island might m=ke Talilah uncomfortable.” Musk retorted: “Ratio is not a problem for Talulah.”Musk was married to British actress Talulah Riley at the time. It is not clear whether he travelled to the island.However, a year later, in December 2013, the documents show that Musk emailed asking to visit the self-declared billionaire’s island again in the new year. Epstein replied: “Any day 1st — 8th. Play it by ear if you want. Always space for you.” A few days later Epstein cancelled, saying he had to stay in New York.Musk has previously said that he did not know Epstein well and had only been to his Manhattan house once for 30 minutes. He posted on X in September: “Anyone pushing this false narrative deserves complete contempt. Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED.”Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Friday’s DoJ files show that Musk’s brother Kimbal, who is a Tesla board member, also exchanged multiple emails with Epstein and his associate Boris Nikolic in 2012.In one message Kimbal thanked the pair for introducing him to a woman called Jennifer and was warned by Nikolic: “Kimbal — just fyi — you better be nice to Jenn ;) Jeffrey goes crazy when someone mistreats his girls/friends.”Kimbal replied: “Jeffrey: Message received wide and clear. ;) Seriously, I am very happy with my time so far with Jennifer. She’s great.”Kimbal did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment.Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, was also mentioned in the latest trove of documents. In a late 2012 email exchange that appears to be between Epstein’s assistant Lesley Groff and Lutnick, the pair discussed a potential lunch on Epstein’s island in the Caribbean Sea as he and his family sailed through the area.The emails seem to contradict Lutnick’s position, related in a New York Post podcast interview from 2025, in which said that he had only ever met Epstein once.A commerce department spokesperson said: “Secretary Lutnick had limited interactions with Mr Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing”.Additional reporting by Lauren Fedor.© 2026 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.

FT: Epstein emails on STD-infested Bill Gates released by US Justice Dept

Key topics:

Related Stories