More than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse have called on the billionaire Leon Black to appear before the House oversight committee in order to clarify his connections to the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. In a letter released on Wednesday, the survivors urged Black to comply with congressional subpoenas ahead of Thursday’s deposition before the House oversight committee. He has already faced accusations of purposely delaying and disrupting the panel’s inquiry.
The letter further stated that “Black’s use of NDAs underscores why Congress must scrutinize the agreements in his possession and determine whether they shed light on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and others in Epstein’s orbit”. Black had not yet confirmed his appearance before the committee as of Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter had told the Guardian. In a previous statement before the oversight committee in June, Black denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, writing: “I did not know about this nefarious activity until Epstein was charged with trafficking in July 2019.” However, Black acknowledged that he was aware that Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 “to state charges relating to prostitution involving a minor”.
In a speech from the House floor this week, Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who recently lost his primary to a challenger backed by Donald Trump, read aloud the names of several friends and associates of Epstein, including Black. Massie called on the Department of Justice to investigate the group of men and women whom the representative referred to as “perpetrators” of Epstein’s crimes. Massie also emphasized that despite the fact it has been nearly a year since Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, millions of the Epstein files remain unreleased.
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