Gates’ Taped Pretrial Testimony Provokes Laughter From Judge

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared so uncooperative and forgetful in interviews with government lawyers that the judge overseeing the company’s antitrust trial laughed and shook his head while watching Monday.

As the trial entered its fifth week, the government played another hour of videotape of its lawyers questioning Gates over three days last summer.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson laughed out loud--along with the rest of the courtroom--and at times shook his head as Gates questioned what antitrust enforcers meant by the words “concern,” “compete” and “we.”

At one point, Gates denied understanding what the government meant when asked about “non-Microsoft browsers.”

And during an exchange over a January 1996 e-mail, Jackson laughed and shook his head at the verbal sparring as government attorney David Boies asked Gates about the quote, “Winning Internet browser share is a very, very important goal for us.”

“I’m not getting your question,” Gates said. “Are you trying to ask what I was thinking when I wrote this sentence?”

“Let me begin with that,” Boies said. “What were you thinking when you--”

“I don’t remember specifically writing this sentence,” Gates interrupted.

“Does that mean you can’t answer what you were thinking when you wrote that sentence?” Boies asked.

“That’s correct,” Gates said.