Leon Black, a billionaire investor with ties to the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, declined to show up for his scheduled transcribed interview Thursday with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — choosing instead to file a lawsuit calling the panel’s subpoenas for his participation “invalid.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the subpoenas served to Black compelling his testimony and demanding he turn over certain non-disclosure agreements go beyond the committee’s “delegated authority in seeking private information that bears no legitimate connection to [the committee’s] legislative purpose.”
Black’s escalation is likely to trigger a corresponding dramatic response from the Oversight Committee, where Republicans are still endeavoring to show they are taking their Epstein investigation seriously more than a year since its launch.
“I would hold him in contempt right now,” House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters. “Of all the powerful billionaires and political people we brought in for interviews and depositions, this is the first time anyone’s filed suit.”
But Comer said he wanted to first consult with committee members, the House legislative counsel and “our legal team” to determine the best next steps.
“I don’t want to do anything to harm our chances in court,” he said, adding, “the most important priority is to get Mr. Black in to answer questions. He is a very important witness, and the disputes revolve around non-disclosure agreements.”
Democrats, who are eager to send a strong message that those who defy the panel now won’t be spared if the party retakes control of the House in 2027, appeared more ready to move forward with a contempt resolution following Black’s legal action and noncompliance.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California — the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat who is poised to take the gavel if Republicans lose their majority in the midterms — told reporters he would make sure Black is held in contempt in the next Congress if he becomes the chair, should Comer decline to proceed.
“We have had survivors tell our committee directly that Leon Black was involved in the abuse of women,” said Garcia. “His lawsuit against the committee is laughable … what he’s trying to do is slow the process down of getting us information.”
The Oversight Committee proceeded with its scheduled transcribed interview with an empty chair Thursday morning.
Black, who founded Apollo Global Management, appeared in a closed door session with the Oversight Committee earlier this summer to discuss his association with Epstein. As a result of that meeting, Black was slapped with a subpoena to produce certain non-disclosure agreements he signed with women tied to Epstein and told to come back for a second grilling.
The panel has been counting on the NDAs to shed further light on how Epstein and his network were able to sexually exploit women and girls and evade liability for decades.
Black has since produced one NDA between himself and a woman with whom he had an affair and to whom he paid $9.5 million. Comer called that insufficient, demanding Black turn over the others and threatening to pursue contempt proceedings if Black did not cooperate.
Black’s attorneys contend the subpoenas “would … expose women who value their privacy, who have no known or public connection to Epstein, who bargained for confidentiality and have refused to release it, and who have no ability to protect themselves and their privacy before the Committee.”
Susan Estrich, one of Black’s lawyers, in a statement accused the Oversight Committee of going on “a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and completely ignores its responsibility. 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.”
Estrich added that Black continues to deny his knowledge of Epstein’s misconduct and “feels terrible for Epstein’s victims.”