Billionaire investor Leon Black, who was closely associated with Jeffrey Epstein, sued the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday, seeking to block subpoenas in the panel’s investigation of the late sex offender’s network.
Black did not show up for a scheduled deposition before the committee Thursday morning, and instead challenged two subpoenas: one that sought nondisclosure agreements that Black may have been party to, and another that compelled him to testify before the committee.
The committee issued the subpoenas after Black voluntarily sat for an interview about his relationship with Epstein but refused to answer what lawmakers said were key questions. Epstein served for years as a paid financial adviser to Black.
In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, Black alleges the subpoenas issued in June are invalid and says they seek private information that has no “legitimate connection” to the committee’s work.
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Black has already testified to Congress that Epstein had nothing to do with drafting or creating any confidentiality agreements he may possess, the lawsuit says, and the subpoena compels production of “a vast quantity of agreements of all kinds.”
It also argues 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.”
The 28-page complaint, which names the House oversight committee and Chair James Comer as defendants, seeks a court order barring the panel from enforcing the subpoenas. It argues the subpoenas are overbroad and exceed the committee’s authority.
In a statement Thursday morning, Comer sharply criticized Black for refusing to appear for his deposition and for filing the lawsuit.
“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 nondisclosure agreements.”
Comer added that the deposition would move forward with an empty chair for Black, and that he would discuss next steps with committee members.
The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia, said Thursday that Black must be held in contempt of Congress. He accused Black of having “funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women,” saying Black had paid Epstein tens of millions of dollars over several years.
“The process of contempt has to begin. It is not acceptable that he’s not coming in, and his lawsuit against the committee is laughable,” Garcia told reporters at the Capitol.
A lawyer for Black didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The committee is probing federal authorities’ handling of their investigation into Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, for trafficking and sexually abusing girls and women. Lawmakers are also examining the pair’s ties to a broad network of powerful and wealthy business leaders, government officials and academics.
Black, who made his fortune working in private equity, stepped down from his role leading Apollo Global Management in 2021 amid scrutiny of his ties to Epstein. His name appears hundreds of times in the millions of investigative files that Congress forced the Justice Department to release last year. Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have called for the Justice Department to investigate him.
Lawmakers on the oversight committee voiced frustration with Black’s June 26 interview, with Republicans and Democrats saying at the time that he had refused to answer “vital” questions. Comer and Garcia said NDAs that Black allegedly signed with women were essential to the committee’s investigation and that it was critical to find out whether Epstein was involved.
The committee’s inquiry into the documents was “directly relevant to understanding the operation of sex-trafficking rings, potential impediments to the federal government’s investigations of sex-trafficking rings, and the potential methods for Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell to exercise influence over associates to protect their illegal activities,” Comer wrote in a letter attached to the subpoena.
In general, nondisclosure agreements do not protect criminal activity.
Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 after being charged with federal sex-trafficking crimes. Authorities ruled it a suicide. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted of helping him groom, traffic and abuse minors.
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