Billionaire Leon Black was supposed to appear before the House Oversight Committee Thursday to answer questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Instead, he refused to comply with the subpoena and sued Congress.
Black, the billionaire investor and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block two subpoenas issued by the committee as part of its investigation into Epstein and the network of powerful people surrounding him.
He also refused to appear for his scheduled deposition.
That prompted Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, to call for Black to be held in contempt of Congress.
“By refusing to testify today, Leon Black is now defying two Congressional subpoenas,” Garcia said.
Black was initially served with the subpoenas during a private voluntary interview with lawmakers in June. According to the committee, he declined to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements connected to Epstein.
One subpoena demanded that Black turn over NDAs and related documents. The other required him to return for a deposition.
Black is now asking a federal judge to invalidate both subpoenas and prevent Congress from enforcing them.
His lawsuit argues that the committee has gone beyond its authority by seeking personal information that, in his view, has nothing to do with Epstein or a legitimate legislative purpose.
Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, accused the committee of conducting a “fishing expedition.”
“This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein,” Estrich said. “It is about trying to destroy Mr. Black.”
Lawmakers from both parties aren’t buying it.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer accused Black of “hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people.”
Comer said Black’s testimony is important because he was an Epstein client who paid him substantial sums and had several nondisclosure agreements.
“Our investigation is examining how the federal government for decades failed survivors of Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes and how Mr. Epstein sought to curry favor with influential individuals to avoid scrutiny,” Comer said, according to The Independent.
“Mr. Black’s testimony is crucial to our investigation,” he added.
With Black absent, Comer said the committee’s deposition would proceed anyway.
There would simply be an empty chair where Black was supposed to sit.
Garcia went further, arguing that Black’s refusal to cooperate warranted immediate contempt proceedings.
“Black gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million over six years,” Garcia said. “He funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women.”
Garcia also referenced allegations of sexual assault made against Black by multiple women.
Those allegations are not findings of criminal guilt, and Black has denied wrongdoing. Before his June 26 interview, he said he was unaware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity” until 2019 and maintained that his payments to Epstein were for legitimate financial advice.
Black has said he paid Epstein for access to his extensive network of influential people.
But the financial relationship itself was enormous.
Black paid Epstein more than $150 million over several years, according to previous reporting, and congressional investigators have put the total at more than $180 million over a six-year period.
Black’s relationship with Epstein became a major public issue in 2021, when he stepped down as CEO of Apollo following scrutiny over their association.
Now that relationship is back under congressional scrutiny.
Black’s name appears repeatedly in documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein investigation. He was also among the people featured in a collection of birthday greetings made public by the Oversight Committee last year.
One message attributed to Black included a poem referencing “Blond, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically.”
Black is hardly the only prominent figure whose relationship with Epstein is being examined.
The congressional investigation has also touched on figures including former President Bill Clinton and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
But Black’s refusal to appear has put him in a more immediate confrontation with Congress.
The Oversight Committee now has to decide what comes next.
Garcia says the answer is obvious: contempt.
