The chairman of the House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein threatened to hold Leon Black in contempt of Congress if he fails to appear before the panel next month or doesn’t produce nondisclosure agreements the panel has subpoenaed.
James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued the threat Tuesday to Black, a co-founder of Apollo Global Management, who walked out early from an interview with the panel in June, refusing to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements related to women in Epstein’s orbit.
Black said in an opening statement to the panel in June that he never abused women and wasn’t blackmailed by Epstein, his longtime friend and adviser.
The House panel issued a pair of subpoenas requiring Black to appear before the committee for a sworn deposition on Sept. 3 and provide the panel copies of the NDAs. Following the subpoena, Black has furnished the committee with only one nondisclosure agreement, which the committee deemed insufficient, according to Comer’s letter.
Comer in the letter Tuesday called Black’s “continued refusal to comply” with the committee’s demands “unacceptable.” He vowed to explore all other options at the committee’s disposal, including holding Black in contempt of Congress, which would require approval by the full House.
The letter, which was sent just hours after a meeting between committee staff and Black’s attorney, outlined the negotiations between the two teams over the terms of the subpoenas.
Black’s legal team declined to provide a privileged log of the NDAs Black was party to, according to the letter. The lawyers instead offered to provide one additional agreement and demanded the committee agree to not hold Black in contempt, change the deposition to a voluntary, off-camera interview limited in scope and at a later date than previously agreed to. Comer said the additional agreement offered had already been made public through litigation and dismissed the offer as “unreasonable.”
Susan Estrich, an attorney for Black, said in an email response that the Apollo co-founder “provided the Committee with the only confidentiality agreement that pre-dated Epstein’s death and the only one of which Epstein was aware.”
“The Committee seems committed to transform a factfinding exercise about Epstein into a political witch hunt targeting Mr. Black,” she added.
Black has acknowledged paying Epstein $158 million over the years, saying it was for advice on estate and tax planning.
If the full House votes to hold Black in contempt, the issue would be referred to the Justice Department for review by a grand jury and possible prosecution.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. The House Oversight Committee is investigating Epstein’s networks, as well as potential lapses in federal law enforcement’s response.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.