Leon Black, a former Wall Avenue non-public fairness investor, on Thursday sued the Home Oversight Committee, looking for to cease the panel from implementing its subpoenas towards him in an ongoing probe of the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“The Committee is on a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and utterly ignores its accountability. That is not about discovering the reality about Epstein. It’s about making an attempt to destroy Mr. Black. We have been left with no alternative however to file this lawsuit in response to an abuse of Congressional energy,” Black’s legal professional, Susan Estrich, stated in a press release.
Black had been set to seem earlier than the committee Thursday morning.
The lawsuit comes after Black voluntarily sat for a closed-door transcribed interview with the Oversight Committee in late June however left the listening to early.
Lawmakers have for months sought extra data on the monetary internet that allowed Epstein to fund his intercourse trafficking operation and whether or not Black was in any respect concerned or conscious of any criminal activity. They particularly have sought details about any nondisclosure agreements Black signed with ladies.
Black has denied any wrongdoing, involvement in or consciousness of Epstein’s criminal activity.
In Thursday’s assertion, she stated that Black was “misled” in regards to the intentions of the committee’s chair, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
“Mr. Black has cooperated with the Committee by voluntarily showing to reply questions in a transcribed interview. Regardless of being misled in regards to the intent of that interview, he then totally complied with the Committee’s subpoena associated to Epstein,” Estrich stated.
She added, “To indicate misconduct due to the existence of a confidentiality settlement is totally unjustified. Confidentiality agreements are routinely utilized in enterprise.”
Estrich went on to wholly deny any allegations towards Black, saying, “We need to reiterate that Mr. Black had no consciousness of the legal actions that led to Epstein’s arrest in 2019. Mr. Black by no means abused a girl. He by no means was with an underage girl. He by no means engaged in intercourse trafficking. He by no means paid Epstein for entry to ladies. He was by no means blackmailed by Epstein.”
Black’s title seems greater than 300 instances in recordsdata launched by the Justice Division late final 12 months and early this 12 months associated to Epstein. His title seems usually in emails from Epstein’s assistant, directing the financier to name Black. Greater than 100 of the mentions of Black are in emails from Epstein’s assistant, who wrote, “Leon Black returned your name.”
In a press release, Comer reacted to Black’s failure to seem earlier than the committee Thursday, saying, “It’s a disgrace Leon Black is hiding behind litigation moderately than present solutions to the American individuals.”
He added, “Mr. Black’s testimony is essential to our investigation as he was one in every of Mr. Epstein’s price paying purchasers and has a number of non-disclosure agreements. Our deposition is transferring ahead this morning for the report and there will likely be an empty chair for Mr. Black. I’ll communicate with our members about subsequent steps.”
Black’s profession and his repute have been marred for years resulting from his relationship with Epstein, a convicted little one intercourse offender who died in 2019.
In 2022, Black was sued over allegations that he raped a girl in Epstein’s New York Metropolis mansion in 2002. That case was later dropped with prejudice after each events reached an settlement to take action and Black denied the allegations towards him. A separate however ongoing lawsuit, filed in 2023, accused Black of raping a 16-year-old lady at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2002. A lawyer for Black denied the allegations, calling them “frivolous and sanctionable.” In April, a decide overseeing the case wrote that the plaintiff and her legal professional “engaged in severe, sanctionable misconduct on this case,” however allowed the case to proceed.
Black in 2021 stepped down from the hedge fund he co-founded, Apollo International Administration, after the agency carried out an unbiased overview trying into his ties to Epstein. The overview discovered that Black was not concerned in Epstein’s legal actions.
Earlier this 12 months, he was set to be deposed in a lawsuit filed by survivors of Epstein and his associates alleging that Financial institution of America facilitated and profited from Epstein’s unlawful intercourse trafficking exercise. Financial institution of America later settled that lawsuit for greater than $70 million and didn’t admit any legal responsibility in that case.
“Whereas we stand by our prior statements made within the filings on this case, together with that Financial institution of America didn’t facilitate intercourse trafficking crimes, this decision permits us to place this matter behind us and gives additional closure for the plaintiffs,” a Financial institution of America spokesperson informed NBC Information on the time.
In a press release reacting to information of the lawsuit Thursday, Robert Garcia, the highest Democrat on the Home Oversight Committee, stated, “By refusing to testify immediately, Leon Black is now defying two Congressional subpoenas. Black gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million over six years. He funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of girls. A number of ladies have additionally accused Black of sexual assault. His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable.”
Garcia additionally known as to carry Black in contempt of Congress.