House panel recommends contempt charge for billionaire Leon Black in Epstein probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to recommend that billionaire Leon Black be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena for testimony in the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.
Republicans and Democrats joined unanimously in the bipartisan vote after Black refused to appear this month for a sworn deposition and produce requested nondisclosure agreements. Black sued the panel, asking a federal court to block the subpoenas.
Black is the former chief executive of a private equity firm that lawmakers say funneled millions to Epstein. Republican Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, said Black is “hiding behind litigation to delay having to provide answers to the American people.”
“No one is above the law,” Comer of Kentucky said. “We have no choice but to hold him in contempt.”
The panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, said Black's behavior is “unacceptable.”
“We are going to stand up,” he said, and remind people that “subpoenas are not suggestions.”
The recommendation to hold Black in contempt would next go to the full House for a vote. If approved, it would send the contempt finding to the Justice Department, with the possibility of prosecution.
The House is scheduled to break later this week until after the midterm election in November, making next steps uncertain.
Black’s attorneys issued a scathing response, calling the committee's action a “complete abomination.”
“The Committee under the leadership of Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Robert Garcia has lost sight of its legislative purpose and is abusing its power,” attorneys Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler said in a statement.
“Mr. Black has repeatedly said that he feels terrible for Epstein’s victims and that he regrets ever doing business with Epstein,” the statement said.
“He never abused a woman. He never was with an underage woman. He never engaged in sex trafficking. He never paid Epstein for access to women. He was never blackmailed by Epstein. Mr. Black had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”
The attorneys said they have filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Conduct seeking an investigation into what they called Comer’s unethical tactics. They said Garcia is “spouting hate-filled lies” about Black.
The lawsuit claims the committee overstepped its authority in issuing the subpoenas.
The investigation into Epstein has become one of the signature developments of this Congress, a rare moment of bipartisan action. Survivors of Epstein's alleged sexual abuse have told personal stories of being young women in a trafficking enterprise organized by Epstein and his colleague Ghislaine Maxwell.
Black is among several prominent figures, including Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, who have been asked to appear as part of the probe.
In June, Black did appear for a voluntary interview at the committee. Lawmakers said later that he refused to answer their questions about the nondisclosure agreements.
The committee issued two subpoenas seeking to compel Black to produce the NDAs and to appear for a deposition July 16. The committee said it had accommodated Black’s request to delay the deposition to Sept. 3, but he refused to appear.
Black co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management and stepped down in 2021 during the fallout over his ties to Epstein.
Lawmakers have alleged that Black paid Epstein $180 million during their yearslong relationship.
A 2021 review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million from 2012 to 2017, after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The review said the payments were for “bona fide tax, estate planning and other related services.”
The lawmakers said Tuesday that Black's testimony would be crucial to their investigation as well as their recommendations going forward.
Comer said testimony from Black about Epstein and Maxwell would be “invaluable.”
Garcia said hearing directly from Black would help the committee understand the role of big banks in trafficking enterprises as it probes how the legal and law enforcement systems can do better to protect victims.
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