House panel votes to hold Epstein associate Leon Black in contempt

The House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to recommend the full House find billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with subpoenas related to its probe into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The bipartisan vote was unanimous, 41-0.

Black, a private equity investor who had a business relationship with Epstein, voluntarily sat for a closed-door transcribed interview with the Republican-led committee in late June but left before it was over, after lawmakers complained he wasn’t answering their questions. As a result, they issued subpoenas for him to turn over more information.

He didn’t show up fora later deposition the committee scheduled and sued it, seeking to block the subpoenas for his appearance and nondisclosure agreements tied to Epstein.

Attorneys for Black called the committee’s action a “complete abomination” in a statement ahead of the vote called by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the committee chair.

“This is retaliation — plain and simple,” the attorneys, Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler, wrote. “We have the constitutional right to sue Chairman Comer and the Committee because the subpoenas issued were illegitimate, illegal and a textbook abuse of power designed to bully and destroy legal protections of private citizens.”

Black is a co-founder and former head of Apollo Global Management, one of Wall Street’s most prominent investment firms.

He announced he was stepping down as CEO in January 2021 after an internal review found he had paid Epstein $158 million for advice on tax and estate planning and related services from 2012 to 2017. The review found that Black wasn’t involved in Epstein’s criminal activities.

Black has said he didn’t engage in any wrongdoing and “deeply” regrets his involvement with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Black hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing by law enforcement, and he has denied any involvement in or awareness of Epstein’s illegal activity.

After the Oversight contempt recommendation, the next step would be for the House to vote on the resolution. But it’s not a guarantee.

Comer told NBC News after Tuesday’s vote that he expects the House to take up the resolution on Thursday.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said “today’s a really important day for justice.”

He add that the committee will “work towards a strong vote of the House in a bipartisan way to get and ensure that we get our testimony and that Leon Black faces justice for these two subpoenas.”

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