Leon Black battles Epstein panel, skips testimony and files suit

Caitlin Reilly and Erik Larson, Bloomberg News on Sep 3, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Billionaire Leon Black failed to appear Thursday morning before the House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein and instead filed a lawsuit seeking to block subpoenas for his testimony and documents related to women in Epstein’s orbit.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer told reporters he was ready to hold the Apollo Global Management co-founder in contempt “right now” but would first consult with legal advisers because he doesn’t “want to do anything to harm our chances in court.”

A contempt conviction could lead to a prison sentence or hefty fine against Black.

Black filed a suit against Comer, a Kentucky Republican, and the House committee hours before he was scheduled to appear, alleging the panel lacks authority to enforce the subpoenas, which the panel served on him in June. The committee also subpoenaed nondisclosure agreements Black made with women.

Comer alleged Black was in possession of “multiple NDAs,” citing conversations with Epstein survivors.

Rep.Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, pressed for a quick contempt proceedings against Black.

“Leon Black is now defying two Congressional subpoenas,” Garcia of California said in a statement. “His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable. We must hold him in contempt immediately.”

Black’s lawsuit follows weeks of back-and-forth between his lawyers and the committee, as his team sought to negotiate restrictions on questions the panel could pose. Black’s attorneys also sought to limit the number of nondisclosure agreements that he would be required to provide.

“This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein,” Susan Estrich, one of Black’s attorneys, said in an emailed statement Thursday. “It is about trying to destroy Mr. Black.”

Black walked out early from an interview with the panel in June, refusing to answer questions about the agreements.

At that time, Black said in an opening statement to the panel that he never abused women and wasn’t blackmailed by Epstein, his longtime friend and adviser.

Black, who has acknowledged paying Epstein $158 million over the years for what he described as advice on estate and tax planning, argues in the suit that there’s no justification for the “sweeping and intrusive” subpoena, which he calls an attempt to “invade” his private life.

“Mr. Black supports the Congressional efforts to stamp out trafficking and to ensure that this country never has another Jeffrey Epstein,” his lawyers argue in the complaint. “But Mr. Black has already testified to Congress that Epstein had nothing to do with drafting or creating any confidentiality agreements he may possess.”

Following a subpoena, Black furnished the committee with only one nondisclosure agreement, which the committee deemed insufficient, Comer said in a letter to Black last month. In the letter, Comer said Black’s legal team declined to provide a list of the NDAs he is declining to hand over.

In his lawsuit, Black says he walked out of the June interview because the lines of questioning on NDAs and Suspicious Activity Reports — confidential reports that financial institutions file with the U.S. Treasury — went beyond what committee staff had told him the interview would cover. Black argues the subpoena for NDAs “reach well beyond Mr. Black” and are “overbroad.”

“As written, they compel production of a vast quantity of agreements of all kinds, including the disclosure of the unredacted identities and private circumstances of women who bargained for confidentiality, whose counsel have affirmatively declined to release Mr. Black from his confidentiality obligations, and who want no association with the Epstein scandal,” according to the suit.

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.