The Republican chairman of the House oversight committee has threatened to hold the private equity investor Leon Black in contempt if he does not fully cooperate with the panel’s ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, amid accusations that the billionaire is purposely delaying and disrupting the panel’s inquiry. A letter released by Representative James Comer’s office on Tuesday, which was addressed to Black’s lawyer, revealed new details about the high-stakes clash between the powerful Kentucky congressman and Black, the co-founder of Apollo Asset Management who was Epstein’s friend and former client and paid Epstein tens of millions of dollars in fees. Susan Estrich, Black’s lawyer, rejected Comer’s assertions in a statement released on Tuesday night, saying the letter was misrepresenting the facts, and that Black was being targeted in a “political witch hunt”.
Black voluntarily agreed to be questioned by the House panel in June as part of the committee’s broad investigation into Epstein, which the panel has said includes an examination of the alleged mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation into the late sexual predator; the operation of sex-trafficking rings; and the ways in which Epstein and his companion Ghislaine Maxwell “sought to curry favor” to protect their “illegal activities”. But Black’s appearance ended abruptly - after just one hour of questioning - after members of both parties said Black was refusing to answer questions about non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Comer, in his capacity as committee chairman, issued two subpoenas on that day in response to Black’s alleged lack of cooperation: one demanding that Black produce “all non-disclosure agreements to which he is a party” and another demanding he appear before the committee for a deposition.
The fight between the congressional oversight panel and Black is now centered on the scope of the oversight committee’s investigation. Black has so far handed over one NDA to the committee for review and – according to this week’s letter – has indicated he is willing to provide one additional NDA. But in return, according to Comer, Black’s attorneys are seeking a promise that Black will not be held in contempt.
They are also seeking to change the planned deposition subpoena to a voluntary transcribed interview. Black’s attorneys, Comer said, were also seeking to limit the scope of questions about confidentiality agreements to the two NDAs he was willing to provide. Black’s team was also seeking to delay the interview from 3 September to early October.
One of the points of contention appears centered on the timing of NDAs that Black may have entered. According to Comer’s letter, Black defended his decision to provide a single NDA because “to the extent any more such confidentiality agreements exist, they would have been negotiated … well after Epstein’s death” in 2019. In response, Comer said Black did not have “the right to decide what documents are responsive” to his subpoena, and that any agreements signed after Epstein’s death “could still involve [Epstein’s] victims”.
Estrich, Black’s lawyer, said: “Mr Black provided the Committee with the only confidentiality agreement that pre-dated Epstein’s death and the only one of which Epstein was aware.” She added: “Congress has no right to invade private lives as part of a fishing expedition especially where the parties to a confidentiality agreement do not want their identities revealed in a circus-like atmosphere and especially when Epstein had nothing do with any agreement.” According to a report commissioned by Apollo several years ago, Epstein provided financial services to Black between 2012 and 2017. After Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state prostitution charges in 2008, including procuring a minor, Black became Epstein’s largest client, paying him a total of roughly $170m in fees, according to an investigation by the Senate finance committee. Black has described his work for Epstein as tax and estate-planning services.
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