Billionaire Leon Black Sues US House Committee Over Epstein Investigation

Wall Street billionaire Leon Black on Thursday sued a US congressional committee that ordered him to provide lawmakers with copies of non-disclosure agreements as part of an investigation into the activities of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

 

In June, Black declined to answer lawmakers’ questions about Epstein’s victims and the agreements. He also refused to appear at a deposition scheduled by the committee for Thursday, accusing lawmakers of exceeding their constitutional authority by subpoenaing him to produce the documents.

 

In a complaint filed in a Washington federal court, Black alleged that the House Oversight Committee and its chairman, James Comer, had weaponised a voluntary interview in June to launch an unlawful “fishing expedition”.

 

Black, co-founder of private equity giant Apollo Global Management, said the committee’s subpoenas had no legitimate legislative purpose and threatened the privacy of women who had no connection to the Epstein scandal.

 

“This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr Black. We were left with no choice but to file this lawsuit in response to an abuse of congressional power,” Susan Estrich, an attorney for Black, said in a statement.

 

The committee is proceeding with Thursday’s deposition to formally document the Apollo co-founder’s absence before considering its next steps, Comer said in a statement.

 

He defended the scope of the investigation, saying it seeks to establish how federal authorities mishandled the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases for decades, and how Epstein used powerful connections to evade justice.

 

Epstein was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019, and his death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.

 

“It’s a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people,” Comer said. “Mr Black’s testimony is crucial to our investigation as he was one of Mr Epstein’s fee-paying clients and has several non-disclosure agreements.”

 

Epstein Ties, Apollo Fallout

 

Black is one of several prominent political and business figures who have been called to testify about their ties to the late financier.

 

He relinquished his role as Apollo’s chief executive in 2021 after an external law firm found that he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning services.

 

Thursday’s scheduled deposition followed a voluntary private appearance by Black before the committee in June.

 

During that interview, Black told lawmakers that he had never abused women, engaged in sex trafficking or had sex with underage women. According to committee members, he walked out of the interview, prompting lawmakers to order him to return to testify under oath and subsequently subpoena him for documents.

 

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges and served 13 months in prison. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors.

 

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