Billionaire investor Leon Black will sit for a deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Sept. 3 for its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the panel announced Wednesday.
Republicans and Democrats on the panel fumed last month when the billionaire showed up to a voluntary interview and refused to hand over nondisclosure agreements and answer “vital” questions. Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Kentucky) subpoenaed Black for his testimony and the NDAs during that interview. Black had initially been scheduled to testify under oath on Thursday.
Black, a longtime Epstein associate, will also hand over nondisclosure agreements that lawmakers have requested by the end of next week, a committee spokesperson said.
Lawmakers say they are seeking NDAs between Black and women, and say they want to know whether Epstein was involved. Black told the panel in his opening statement last month that he did not have any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, but that he was aware of Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from young girls.
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“We want to know, was Jeffrey Epstein involved in the NDAs? Was he involved in writing? Was he involved in awarding funds to the women for NDAs?” Comer said after Black’s interview last month. “We expect to see him back here in a few weeks.”
The confirmation of Black’s sworn testimony comes as the Oversight panel interviewed on Wednesday another Epstein associate, former Obama White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler. Documents released by the Justice Department revealed that Ruemmler communicated with Epstein extensively and received gifts from the disgraced billionaire.
Ruemmler, who stepped down last month as Goldman Sachs’ chief legal officer and general counsel, told lawmakers on Wednesday that she knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes and that it was a “mistake” to ever deal with him.
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