介绍： Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties
From: The Wall Street Journal
Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn't participate in Epstein's cr...

介绍： Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties
From: The Wall Street Journal
Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn't participate in Epstein's crimes.
In a town hall on Tuesday, the Microsoft co-founder acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they didn't involve Epstein's victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Gates said images in the recently released Epstein files showing him with women whose faces are redacted were pictures that Epstein asked him to take with Epstein's assistants after their meetings. “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said.
“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender, Gates said. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”
The billionaire said he met with Epstein starting in 2011, years after Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates said he was aware of some “18-month thing” that had limited Epstein's travel but said he didn't properly check his background. Gates said he continued meeting with Epstein even after his then-wife Melinda French Gates expressed concerns in 2013. 
“Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it's clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” Gates told staff. Speaking of his ex-wife, he added: “To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.” 
Gates told staff on Tuesday that he continued meeting with Epstein through 2014, flew on a private jet with Epstein and spent time with him in Germany, France, New York and Washington. “I never stayed overnight,” he said, or visited Epstein's island. 
He said Epstein “talked about the kind of intimate relationship he had with a lot of billionaires, particularly Wall Street billionaires,” and that he could help raise money for causes like global health. 
Gates said because Epstein had other prestigious people at these meetings, that “made it easier for me to feel like this was a normalized situation.” He said he realizes that his association with Epstein also helped the sex offender to burnish his reputation.
Gates admitted that his ties to Epstein and newly disclosed emails from the Justice Department files had cast a cloud over the Gates Foundation and its reputation.
“It definitely is the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation,” he said. “And our work is very reputational sensitive. I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us.”
philanthropic /ˌfɪlənˈθrɒpɪk/ adj. 慈善的
He is known for his philanthropic work in education.
他以在教育领域的慈善工作而闻名。
illicit /ɪˈlɪsɪt/ adj. 非法的，不正当的
The company was accused of engaging in illicit trade.
该公司被指控从事非法交易。
redacted /rɪˈdæktɪd/ adj. 编校过的，隐藏敏感信息的
The names in the document were redacted to protect privacy.
为了保护隐私，文件中的名字被隐藏了。
skeptical /ˈskeptɪkl/ adj. 怀疑的
Many people are skeptical about the new product's effectiveness.
许多人对新产品的效果表示怀疑。
burnish /ˈbɜːnɪʃ/ v. 提升，磨光
He tried to burnish his image by doing charity work.
他试图通过做慈善工作来提升自己的形象。
reputational /ˌrepjuˈteɪʃənl/ adj. 声誉的
The scandal caused serious reputational damage to the bank.
这起丑闻对银行的声誉造成了严重损害。
tie /taɪ/ n. 联系，关系
The two countries have strong economic ties.
这两个国家有紧密的经济联系。
cast a cloud over /kɑːst ə klaʊd ˈəʊvə/ phrase 投下阴影
The bad news cast a cloud over the whole family.
这个坏消息给全家人心头投下了阴影。