As Bellevue, Washington-based TerraPower seeks to revive nuclear energy, the company is facing questions from employees over the ties between its founder and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

In an all-hands meeting Thursday, CEO Chris Levesque sought to dispel notions that TerraPower had any connection with Epstein or his money. But he did acknowledge that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold — chair and vice-chair of TerraPower, respectively — have had their relationships with Epstein widely publicized in recent months.

Levesque called it a troubling situation," according to a recording of the town-hall meeting obtained by The Seattle Times. He also encouraged employees to listen to Gates' public comments on his relationship with Epstein, and specifically mentioned Gates' apology to Gates Foundation employees last month.

Gates delivered that apology at a Gates Foundation town hall, during which he detailed his relationship with Epstein, which he'd previously described in 2021 as motivated by philanthropic desires and ultimately a huge mistake. Gates said he and the New York financier met numerous times between 2011 and 2014, primarily to discuss a fund for global health that Epstein said he could fill with money from Wall Street billionaires. This was after Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.

Though Epstein was ultimately privy to intimate details of Gates' life, including affairs the Microsoft co-founder had with two Russian women, Gates maintained that he never visited Epstein's infamous island believed to be a location central to Epstein's alleged sex trafficking network. Gates also said he never participated in or witnessed illegal activity.

"We have had employee concerns on this matter, which I am glad to see," TerraPower's Levesque said during Thursday's meeting.

Gates will attend an in-person interview with the House Oversight Committee on May 19 related to the panel's investigation into Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2022.

After speaking about Gates, Levesque turned the conversation toward Myhrvold.

As with Gates', Myhrvold's name has popped up multiple times in the Epstein-related documents released by both the House Oversight Committee and the Justice Department.

In September, Congress released a 2003 birthday book that Maxwell compiled for Epstein. The book, a collection of lewd letters, drawings and images from political and business elites, listed Myhrvold as one of the contributors along with President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and others.

A letter that appears to have been written by Myhrvold reads, "A few years ago somebody at a party asked me ‘Does Jeffrey Epstein manage your money?' I replied ‘No, but he advises me on lifestyle'. The guys eyes bugged out of his head and he said 'REALLY?'"

The letter goes on to say how Myhrvold "agonized" over what to write. He decided against anything "philosophical," "silly and salacious" or related to shared "interests in science and exploration," and instead included graphic photos from a recent trip to Africa.

The photos depict sex acts between zebras and between lions, and the engorged genitalia of a male monkey and a male zebra. The photos "seemed more appropriate than anything I could put in words," the typewritten letter, signed "Nathan," said.

Myhrvold was also listed as a passenger on Epstein's private jet in the 1990s at least twice. That, coupled with personal and sometimes vulgar emails between Myhrvold and Epstein in the 2010s, shows their relationship spanned decades.

Representatives for Myhrvold have said multiple times that Myhrvold knew Epstein "from TED conferences and as a donor to basic scientific research," and that he regrets ever meeting Epstein. They have not addressed the letter or Myhrvold's emails with Epstein.

Levesque told TerraPower employees Thursday that the company's board was monitoring the news but that, as he sees it, there's been no evidence of wrongdoing yet.

"Some of the news is troubling, but again there's no evidence of any wrongdoing," Levesque said. "This is stuff that we'll continue to work through with our board."

In a Q&A portion of Thursday's meeting, Levesque was asked about Myhrvold's emails between himself and Epstein. The questioner called some of the emails "denigrating and disrespectful to women."

In a November 2013 email exchange, Epstein thanks Myhrvold for sending him books with a line that says "the pistachio icecream didn't make it." Myhrvold replied, "(expletive) doesn't FedEx well either! Some things you have to be there," making a vulgar reference to female genitalia.

In a May 2014 thread between the two, Myhrvold invited Epstein to his labs and office at Intellectual Ventures, the Bellevue-based investment firm co-founded by Myhrvold.

"Have your people call mine, we will set up a lab visit, and you should come see my office. and bring" her, Myhrvold appears to have written, referring to a woman or girl by name.

"i am going to leave her there," Epstein replied. Myhrvold sent back a smiling face emoticon.

The prewritten question said, "how can we claim this doesn't affect TerraPower when we have women employees? How are women supposed to feel safe and respected, for example, if we are selected to present in future board meetings?"

Levesque answered, saying concerns around Myhrvold were a board-level discussion. As CEO, Levesque is in charge of the management team and said there have been multiple instances where the company has taken disciplinary action for inappropriate behavior by managers.

But he's also a member of the board.

"I hold very high expectations, especially for our managers, on behavior. … We're going to hold that standard when it comes to board members," Levesque said. "It is a board-level discussion, and I can tell you, there's a discussion happening on this matter. We're going to continue to watch it."

When asked by The Seattle Times whether this meant Myhrvold was potentially facing disciplinary action, a TerraPower spokesperson said the company "has no additional comments outside of what was shared directly with employees.

TerraPower's all-hands meeting came a little more than a week after the company's nuclear power plant in Wyoming received federal approval. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted a construction permit to TerraPower, marking the first time in nearly a decade that a new U.S. commercial reactor has been cleared for construction.

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