Epstein Associate to Face House Committee Vote on Contempt of Congress

On Friday, House Oversight Committee chair James Comer announced that next week an associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein may be facing charges of contempt of Congress. This comes after that associate, Leon Black, refused to appear before the committee.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced Friday that his panel will hold a mark-up on a resolution next week that recommends billionaire investor Leon Black be held in contempt of Congress. 

The recommendation comes after Black, who was a known associate of the late-convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, defied subpoenas and refused to testify in front of the panel as scheduled last week.

The full committee mark-up will take place on Tuesday.

“It doesn’t matter how wealthy, powerful, or connected you are, no one gets to pick and choose which lawful congressional subpoenas they will obey," Comer said in a statement.

Leon Black is the co-founder of a private equity firm called Apollo Global Management, and held the positions of CEO and Chairman of that firm until 2021, when he stepped down after allegations of his association with the infamous Jeffrey Epstein became known. His association with Apollo Global Management left him with an approximate net worth of $13.8 billion. He was also the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art from 2018 to 2021, and in 2020 was described by Bloomberg as "ruthless." There are also reports that Epstein helped Black negotiate a non-disclosure agreement and a financial settlement after Black's reported affair with a Russian model.

He is reported to have paid Epstein as much as $170 million for "tax and financial services." Now, it appears that the House Oversight panel isn't about to let him go without answering some questions. 

"The Committee provided Mr. Black multiple opportunities to cooperate, yet he has refused to appear for a deposition and failed to produce subpoenaed documents relevant to our investigation," he [Comer] continued. "After consulting with Committee members, we will defend Congress’s constitutional authority and take action to hold Mr. Black accountable for his continued defiance of lawful congressional subpoenas."

The resolution comes after Comer issued two subpoenas for Black in the middle of his voluntary transcribed interview in June over his refusal to answer questions. 

The first subpoena compelled Black to appear for a deposition, while the second subpoena required him to produce nondisclosure agreements to the committee. Black sued the committee last week to block the subpoenas.

The House Oversight press release states in part:

The House Oversight Committee is investigating how the federal government for decades failed survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes and how Mr. Epstein sought to curry favor with influential individuals to avoid scrutiny. Leon Black had an extensive personal and financial relationship with Jeffrey Epstein spanning decades and paid him at least $158 million after Epstein became a registered sex offender. 

What's not clear is whether Black was ever a passenger on Epstein's private jet, or whether he visited Epstein's infamous island hideaway, although the allegations of financial support for Epstein, even after all of his activities came to light, would surely seem to rate some pointed questions.

There are a lot of questions still to be answered in this matter, and not all of them have to do with Epstein's or anyone else's finances. 

You can view the entire press release from House Oversight here. 

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