Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft (MS), testified at a U.S. House hearing on the 10th (local time) that his dealings with the late Jeffrey Epstein were “a serious lapse in judgment” and that he did not know about the sex crimes committed by Epstein.

According to CNN, Gates appeared that day at a closed-door hearing of the House Oversight Committee and, in his opening statement, said, “I never saw Epstein continually engage in criminal conduct, nor was I aware of any such circumstances.”

He went on, “I never went to his island or ranch, or to his Florida residence. I never made anyone a victim,” adding, “Epstein may have tried to form a personal relationship with me, but I had no interest and did not respond.”

Gates then said that Epstein knew about his extramarital relationship. He said, “I came to learn that he knew sensitive information about my private life, including the fact that I committed adultery during my marriage,” adding, “These matters were unrelated to my relationship with Epstein, but they were painful for our family.”

Gates testified that he was first introduced to Epstein in 2011 and that at the time Epstein promised he could raise billions of dollars for global health initiatives.

He added, “I was aware that Epstein had faced legal problems in the past, but I did not fully understand the seriousness of the crimes he committed,” and said he should have vetted him more rigorously but failed to do so. However, he maintained that his interactions with Epstein were “limited” and that he completely cut ties in December 2014.

However, Gates claimed that Epstein used knowledge of his affair to pressure him to continue their contacts. He said, “His attempts did not succeed, but this shows how he tried to use his relationship with me for his own purposes. I should not have met him in the first place.”

The hearing was convened after the release of documents related to the Epstein case by the U.S. Ministry of Justice drew attention to the relationship between Gates and Epstein. Emails authored by Epstein included the claim that Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease from an extramarital relationship and sought help from Epstein. Gates later acknowledged that he had had an extramarital relationship.