Fact check: Gates appears on Epstein's flight logs, not anyone else in Obama video
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The claim: Obama's Medal of Freedom recipients appear on Epstein's flight logs
A Feb. 21 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a series of clips of former President Barack Obama awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to different celebrities.
"Every single one was on Epstein's flight logs," reads the on-screen text in the video.
The video was liked more than 2,000 times in three days.
Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Our rating: False
Bill Gates is the only person in the video whose name appears on Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs, which show he flew once in 2013 with the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
Gates appears in logs for flight in 2013
The video shows Obama awarding eight people, including Gates, the nation's highest civilian honor during his presidency. The others are Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.
Epstein's flight logs became public as a result of lawsuits filed by women who accused him of sexual abuse and the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
Epstein, a wealthy hedge fund manager, was arrested July 6, 2019, and faced federal charges for allegedly trafficking minors. He pleaded not guilty and was found dead in his jail cell about a month later.
Fact check: No link between Bill Gates and chicken and egg shortage, experts say
Gates' name is listed in the documents for a flight on March 1, 2013, from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Palm Beach, Florida, according to flight logs published by FactCheck.org.
Bridgitt Arnold, a spokesperson for Gates, told the New York Times that Gates was unaware that it was Epstein's plane.
In 2021, Gates said in an interview that it was a "huge mistake" to spend time with Epstein and indicated he had only met with him in an attempt to raise money for global health issues.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
The White House, accessed Feb. 27, The Presidential Medal of Freedom
Business Insider, Aug. 9, 2019, Unsealed flight logs show that Trump was on Epstein's private jet in 1997
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, June 28, 2022, Ghislaine Maxwell Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Conspiring With Jeffrey Epstein To Sexually Abuse Minors
USA TODAY, July 6, 2019, Financier Jeffrey Epstein reportedly arrested in NY on sex charges
USA TODAY, July 8, 2019, Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein pleads not guilty to sex-trafficking claims that 'shock the conscience'
USA TODAY, Aug. 10, 2019, Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting sex trafficking charges, dead of apparent suicide
Scribd, accessed Feb. 27, Epstein Flight Logs
Factcheck.org, Aug. 15, 2019, The Epstein Connections Fueling Conspiracy Theories
The New York Times, Oct. 12, 2019, Bill Gates Met With Jeffrey Epstein Many Times, Despite His Past
CNN, Aug. 5, 2021, Bill Gates says he regrets the time spent with Jeffrey Epstein: ‘It was a huge mistake’
PolitiFact, Feb. 23, Did these Medal of Freedom recipients fly on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane? Not according to flight logs
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Gates is on Epstein's flight logs, nobody else in video
