U.S.
Leon Black skips House deposition and sues to block Epstein subpoenas
The former Apollo chief argues the committee exceeded its authority; the panel's top Republican and Democrat are considering contempt proceedings.
Executive summary
- The absence: Billionaire investor Leon Black did not appear Thursday for a House Oversight Committee deposition concerning his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigationCBS News — Leon Black challenges House Oversight subpoenas
- The lawsuit: Black instead asked a federal court in Washington to invalidate subpoenas seeking his testimony and copies of nondisclosure agreements.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigationCBS News — Leon Black challenges House Oversight subpoenas
- The dispute: His complaint says the subpoenas exceed the committee's authority and threaten the privacy of women with no known connection to Epstein; the committee says the records are relevant to its investigation.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigationCBS News — Leon Black challenges House Oversight subpoenas
- The next step: Committee Chair James Comer and ranking Democrat Robert Garcia said the panel would consider beginning contempt proceedings, but no contempt resolution had been approved when the reports were published.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigation
Billionaire investor Leon Black did not appear Thursday for a sworn deposition before the House Oversight Committee and instead sued the panel and its chair, James Comer, seeking to block two subpoenas issued in the committee's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The complaint was filed in federal court in Washington before the scheduled deposition.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigationCBS News — Leon Black challenges House Oversight subpoenas
One subpoena seeks Black's testimony and the other demands copies of nondisclosure agreements. Black's complaint argues that the requests have no legitimate legislative purpose, exceed the committee's delegated authority and risk exposing private information about women with no known connection to Epstein. The committee says the documents and testimony are relevant to examining how the federal government handled Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigationCBS News — Leon Black challenges House Oversight subpoenas
Comer and Robert Garcia, the committee's ranking Democrat, both criticized Black's refusal to appear and said the panel would discuss contempt proceedings. A committee contempt vote would not itself produce a criminal charge: the full House would have to approve a resolution before the matter could be referred to the Justice Department, which would decide whether to prosecute.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigation
Black co-founded Apollo Global Management and stepped down from the firm in 2021 amid scrutiny of his relationship with Epstein. A review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million from 2012 through 2017 for tax, estate-planning and related services. Black has maintained that he did not know about Epstein's criminal conduct until 2019.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelCBS News — Leon Black challenges House Oversight subpoenas
The lawsuit moves the committee's effort into federal court while leaving congressional enforcement unresolved. Black is asking a judge to declare the subpoenas invalid and prevent the committee from enforcing them; the panel had not announced a formal contempt vote at the time of publication.Associated Press — Leon Black skips deposition and sues House panelReuters — Leon Black sues House committee over Epstein investigationCBS News — Leon Black challenges House Oversight subpoenas