The House Oversight Committee released the full transcript of Bill Gates's closed-door testimony on 23 June, confirming he told lawmakers he had affairs with Mila Antonova, a Russian bridge player, and Karima Nigmatulina, a Russian nuclear physicist, and believes Jeffrey Epstein weaponized those details to plot a potential blackmail attempt. Gates sat for nearly six hours of questioning on 10 June. He testified that neither Russian woman was introduced to him by Epstein, and that he informed Melinda French Gates about the relationships before 2013. Gates told the committee he believes Epstein learned about the affairs through Boris Nikolic, his former chief science adviser, who engaged Epstein to negotiate his exit from the Gates Foundation in 2013. Two draft emails written by Epstein on Nikolic's behalf hinted at the affairs and falsely claimed Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection. Gates said the drafts appeared to be "brainstorming" for a blackmail attempt, but stated "I was not blackmailed." Gates met Epstein 12 to 14 times in person and twice on Skype over four years, with contact ending in 2014.