In text messages sent in 2017, disgraced financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appears to position himself as a middleman between President Donald Trump’s administration and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, even seemingly representing himself as passing on information directly from Trump to Gates through an intermediary.
The messages, which the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released on Wednesday, originated with the Epstein estate. They begin on January 27, 2017, years after Epstein had already pleaded guilty to state prostitution solicitation charges. In them, Epstein purports to show intimate awareness of Trump’s plans for domestic and global public health policy, and to be directly familiar with the president’s thinking.
Trump has continued to claim, as recently as this summer, that he stopped speaking with Epstein around 2004.
The messages are among those in dozens of files that show Epstein texting with prominent figures. According to metadata in the files, the texts were sent using iMessage and then backed up to an Apple computer.
Throughout the exchange in question, Epstein is apparently talking to a longtime associate, physician Melanie Walker, who, according to an online biography at one time, worked for what was then known as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She subsequently worked as an adviser to Gates at bgC3, the entity that would become Gates Ventures. The Gates Foundation and Gates Ventures did not respond to requests for comment.
(The metadata does not name Melanie Walker as the sender of the messages. At one point in a continuous conversation carried on over a period of months, though, the person Epstein is texting with identifies herself as “Melanie” and gives him a new phone number, which is associated with Melanie Walker in public databases. Additionally, the person he’s texting with at one point situates herself at Harborview, a Seattle hospital to which Walker has ties. Melanie Walker did not respond to emails, a phone call, or a text message seeking comment.)
In the first text in the files, Melanie asks Epstein for advice.
“I’m seeing BG tmr. He will be in DC for the Alfalfa dinner but he’s got mtgs most of the day including w Jared Kushner. Should I ask him to discuss surgeon general or mention it or wait? Not sure kushner cares about that stuff.” (The Alfalfa Club hosts an annual banquet in DC where political elites and high-powered businesspeople dine and network that Gates did attend in 2017. As they are throughout this article, the text messages here are presented as they appear in the Oversight Committee release.)
Epstein tells her that Kushner wouldn’t care. “ask him if he will see tom barrack,” he writes. “thats the most important.” Epstein appears to be referring to the chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee in 2016 and current US ambassador to Turkey; at several points in the conversation he refers to Barrack as one of the people Gates should talk to if he wants to make things happen. The State Department did not reply to a request seeking comment from Barrack.
Melanie should, he instructs her, tell Gates he’s free to call any time for “inside baseball.”
“He wants to talk to you but his wife won’t let him,” Melanie replied. “He loves you.” Fifteen seconds later, she added, “he says hi.” Bill and Melinda French Gates finalized their divorce years later in 2021; Melinda went on to say that their split was due in part to Bill’s involvement with Epstein. A representative for her did not reply to a request for comment.
Epstein and Melanie would subsequently discuss different plans to get Melinda Gates to soften her views of the registered sexual offender, including arranging a meeting between her and Kathryn Ruemmler, the former White House counsel in the Obama administration whose friendly messages with Epstein have appeared throughout the recent document dump. (“She would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of jeffrey,” Epstein writes on January 27 about Ruemmler, who did not reply to a request for comment.)
The next morning, on January 28, discussion between the two turned to Trump. Throughout his messages, Epstein appears to imply specific and detailed knowledge of Trump’s personal interests and plans.
“New medical group to be announced to study va,” Epstein writes to Melanie. “Mayo Cleveland involved.”
“Trumps health guy is Moscowitz z palm beach,” he continues, in an apparent reference to Bruce Moskowitz, a Mar-a-Lago member who took a special interest in the Department of Veterans Affairs during Trump’s first term. “Not my interest at all it’s Donald’s,” Epstein writes. “He thinks vets should get at least as much as everyone else . Some hospitals do not have computers.“
The two discuss the potential power a surgeon general could wield before Epstein abruptly asks Melanie, “Did you fuck,” before clarifying that he meant to ask whether she had slept with “Bill.”
“No,” Melanie replies. “Members of his henchman team hovered outside the door for the full few hours Instead We went crazy on the whiteboard and a lot to talk about.”
“Every half hour they would bring him coffee or a croissant or a. Newspaper or message etc,” she continued. “Very closely watched.”
“He was Complaining about being too old,” she wrote, “and I said he was still a little too young for me.”
On February 18, the conversation resumed.
“GENIUS IDEA Now to convince bill,” she writes; the context for this is not clear from the messages published by the Oversight Committee. “Do you think there is a way to do this really well and also get something for BG? Like if we say do this and the admin will keep PEPFAR or something like that.”
“Yes and more,” Epstein writes. “its a deal”
“Thats what he likes,” he continued. The “he,” subsequent texts make clear, is Donald Trump: “he said malaria and polio not an american problem. climate change and eboloa not a american problem nor is clean water or genital mutilation. he thinks bill should stop trying to scare people .ike chicken little,” Epstein wrote. (In October, Gates released a memo downplaying the impact of climate change. Critics noted Gates’ abrupt about-face, citing his previous philanthropic work and the book he published four years ago titled How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. Al Gore, the climate activist and former vice president, has wondered if Trump was bullying Gates.)
“OK let’s keep thinking BG likes deals too,” writes Melanie, musing that the PEPFAR program, which originated under George W. Bush as a government initiative to combat HIV/AIDS globally, was popular among Republicans. “If he could be convinced to keep PEPFAR as is in exchange for cyber i think we would all win.”
“bill needs to focus on american problems first and foremost,” writes Epstein. “if he wants deals. he can also portray certain worldwide iniativies as buying american drugs etc. IT MUST have an american component. donald says it is childish to count the lives at risk in africa and make believe you are doing something for america. or pakistan afhhntan, etc. he points to 8500 killed in chicago vs 2500 killed in afganistan over the past 10 years.”
Melanie says she “understands,” and notes that Gates’ team at the foundation is pushing “in other direction.”
“I sent bill a note to suggest he talk to lauder,” writes Epstein, possibly in reference to billionaire GOP donor Ron Lauder or his brother Leonard. Epstein goes on to imply that he is in close communication with Trump and in a position to pass on messages from the president to Gates. “donald also thinks bill wants not to help america first , he should use his own money, and even that is wrong as it was made here. just transmitting.”
The White House did not reply to a request for comment.
Melanie and Epstein continued to go back and forth about the best way to proceed. She suggested Trump “should enforce tax laws” as a way to police the Gates foundation’s expenditures.
“Number of lives saved per dollar amount is not in donalds mind, it must be american lives saved, and yes, good idea on tax,” replied Epstein.
Melanie went on to share details about how, she alleged, the foundation took advantage of regulatory loopholes.
“Understood I am good at that,” writes Epstein, “however bill should be careful very careful as donald could make an example of him using american dollars to help other than america which really needs it. careful”
“Understood,” writes Melanie.
The next day, she sent Epstein a link to an article in Commentary about Trump’s election and the American economy. “Good article for trump to see,” she wrote.
On March 4, Melanie messaged Epstein. “Bg meets w trump march 20/21,” in apparent reference to Gates. (Gates did indeed meet with Trump at the White House on March 20, 2017. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said the meeting was about combatting disease outbreaks around the world.)
“A waste of time,” replied Epstein. “he should meet with barrack,” in an apparent reference again to the current US ambassador to Turkey.
On March 6, Epstein and Melanie continued messaging about Trump and Gates.
“Israel – tell bill Paris week of 21,” Epstein wrote, in apparent reference to a supposed peace meeting regarding the situation in the Middle East.
“Peace mtg? W Jared and Tony Blair and all those folks? Not sure bg interested in peace process mostly technologies,” replied Melanie. “He says he speaks to Jared a lot”
“No peace boring and not happening. GROW UP,” Epstein replied.
(While there didn’t appear to be a peace meeting in Paris in March 2017, on March 10, days after these messages were sent, Trump had his first ever phone call with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and invited him to visit the White House.)
In their messages on March 6, Melanie reminded Epstein that the meeting was taking place between Gates and Trump later that month.
Epstein appeared to then claim a meeting was taking place at his house to discuss a myriad of issues related to Israel, including, he said in a message to Melanie, “Money surveillance, offense. It’s at my house so I would know.” It’s unclear if the meeting took place, or who attended if it did.
“Omg INVITE ME,” writes Melanie. “Can try to invite bg depending on guest list etc – Larry told him he couldn’t have contact w you so would have to manage that carefully.” (This is an apparent reference to Larry Cohen, Gates’ longtime associate. Cohen is the CEO of Gates Ventures and did not reply to a request seeking comment.)
“Not a problem for me,” writes Epstein. “I like bill . He gets more from me than I get from him. He should grow some balls and start to love.”
