Leon Black sues House Oversight over Epstein probe subpoenas, won't appear Thursday

Former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black sued the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday, seeking to block subpoenas for nondisclosure agreements he was a party to and for further testimony from him about his ties to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Black was due to appear before the Oversight committee on Thursday morning but refused to do so. The committee instead held a closed-door session with an empty chair set aside for the missing billionaire.

Democrats on the panel called on it to formally hold Black in contempt "immediately."

Black's attorneys say the NDAs sought by the committee have nothing to do with his dealings with Epstein.

The panel issued the subpoenas on June 26, June right after Black refused to answer questions about the NDAs and walked out of an interview when he appeared for a closed-door session.

"The Committee is on a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority," one of the lawyers, Susan Estrich, said in a statement. "This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr. Black."

Estrich noted that Black had previously voluntarily appeared before the committee and said he also gave the panel "the only confidentiality agreement that Jeffrey Epstein knew about as part of Mr. Black's cooperation with the Committee's efforts to ferret out the truth about Epstein."

The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington claims the two subpoenas issued to Black are "invalid to the extent they exceed" the committee's "delegated authority in seeking private information that bears no legitimate connection to OGR's legislative purpose."

"Additionally, the subpoenas would also 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 suit says.

Oversight committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., in a statement said, "It's a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people."

"Our investigation is examining how the federal government for decades failed survivors of Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes and how Mr. Epstein sought to curry favor with influential individuals to avoid scrutiny," 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."

"I will speak with our members about next steps," Comer said.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the panel, said in a statement, "By refusing to testify today, Leon Black is now defying two Congressional subpoenas."

"Black gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million over six years," said Garcia, who also said Black had paid millions of dollars to women he had sexual relationships with, "some of whom were also connected to Epstein."

"Black made women sign strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to keep them quiet," Garcia said. "He also paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to avoid Epstein-related claims against him. Black's name is mentioned hundreds of times in the Epstein files."

"He funded Epstein's abuse and trafficking of women. Multiple women have also accused Black of sexual assault," Garcia said. "His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable. We must hold him in contempt immediately."