Billionaire investor Leon Black refused to appear for a deposition with the House Oversight Committee regarding nondisclosure agreements related to his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Black instead filed a lawsuit against the committee, arguing the subpoenas they issued for his testimony exceeds their authority.
Black was a top client for Epstein over several years, and the Oversight Committee was looking to compel Black to turn over any NDAs he was a party to with Epstein.
The lawsuit filed by Black’s lawyers seeks to stop the committee from enforcing its subpoenas, and stated, “The Committee is on a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and completely ignores its responsibility. This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr Black. We were left with no choice but to file this lawsuit in response to an abuse of Congressional power.”
Additionally, the statement denied that Black knew of Epstein’s criminal activities.
“Mr Black never abused a woman,” they said. “He never was with an underage woman. He never engaged in sex trafficking. He never paid Epstein for access to women. He was never blackmailed by Epstein.”
On Thursday, Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, called for Black to be held in contempt after his refusal to appear.
In August, James Comer as the Republican chair of the Oversight Committee threatened Black with contempt if he refused to cooperate with the committee or appear for depositions.