Leon Black, a former Wall Street private equity investor, on Thursday sued the House Oversight Committee, seeking to stop the panel from enforcing its subpoenas against him in an ongoing probe of the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“The Committee is 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,” Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, said in a statement.
Black had been set to appear before the committee Thursday morning.
The lawsuit comes after Black voluntarily sat for a closed-door transcribed interview with the Oversight Committee in late June but left the hearing early.
Lawmakers have for months sought more information on the financial web that allowed Epstein to fund his sex trafficking operation and whether Black was at all involved or aware of any illegal activity. They specifically have sought information about any nondisclosure agreements Black signed with women.
Black has denied any wrongdoing, involvement in or awareness of Epstein’s illegal activity.
In Thursday’s statement, she said that Black was “misled” about the intentions of the committee’s chair, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
“Mr. Black has cooperated with the Committee by voluntarily appearing to answer questions in a transcribed interview. Despite being misled about the intent of that interview, he then fully complied with the Committee’s subpoena related to Epstein,” Estrich said.
She added, “To imply misconduct because of the existence of a confidentiality agreement is entirely unjustified. Confidentiality agreements are routinely used in business.”
Estrich went on to wholly deny any allegations against Black, saying, “We want to reiterate that Mr. Black had no awareness of the criminal activities that led to Epstein’s arrest in 2019. Mr. Black never abused a woman. He never was with an underage woman. He never engaged in sex trafficking. He never paid Epstein for access to women. He was never blackmailed by Epstein.”
Black’s name appears more than 300 times in files released by the Justice Department late last year and early this year related to Epstein. His name appears often in emails from Epstein’s assistant, directing the financier to call Black. More than 100 of the mentions of Black are in emails from Epstein’s assistant, who wrote, “Leon Black returned your call.”
In a statement, Comer reacted to Black’s failure to appear before the committee Thursday, saying, “It’s a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people.”
He added, “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. Our deposition is moving forward this morning for the record and there will be an empty chair for Mr. Black. I will speak with our members about next steps.”
Black’s career and his reputation have been marred for years due to his relationship with Epstein, a convicted child sex offender who died in 2019.
In 2022, Black was sued over allegations that he raped a woman in Epstein’s New York City mansion in 2002. That case was later dropped with prejudice after both parties reached an agreement to do so and Black denied the allegations against him. A separate but ongoing lawsuit, filed in 2023, accused Black of raping a 16-year-old girl at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2002. A lawyer for Black denied the allegations, calling them “frivolous and sanctionable.” In April, a judge overseeing the case wrote that the plaintiff and her attorney “engaged in serious, sanctionable misconduct in this case,” but allowed the case to proceed.
Black in 2021 stepped down from the hedge fund he co-founded, Apollo Global Management, after the firm conducted an independent review looking into his ties to Epstein. The review found that Black was not involved in Epstein’s criminal activities.
Earlier this year, he was set to be deposed in a lawsuit filed by survivors of Epstein and his associates alleging that Bank of America facilitated and profited from Epstein’s illegal sex trafficking activity. Bank of America later settled that lawsuit for more than $70 million and did not admit any liability in that case.
“While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs,” a Bank of America spokesperson told NBC News at the time.
In a statement reacting to news of the lawsuit Thursday, Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said, “By refusing to testify today, Leon Black is now defying two Congressional subpoenas. Black gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million over six years. He funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women. Multiple women have also accused Black of sexual assault. His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable.”
Garcia also called to hold Black in contempt of Congress.
