Billionaire financier Leon Black’s testimony before a House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein ended abruptly Friday morning after members of both parties said Black refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements.
James Comer, the Republican who chairs the committee, told reporters that the committee had already issued two subpoenas to Black on Friday: one demanding he provide any nondisclosure agreements and another to appear before the committee again next month.
Speaking to reporters outside the chamber, Comer said that “non-disclosure agreements are between him and the other women” and that the committee wants to know “was Jeffrey Epstein involved in non-disclosure agreements? Was he involved in the writing? Was he involved in providing funds to women for NDAs?…What was the reason for the NDAs? We want to know everything about non-disclosure agreements.”
“During today’s voluntary interview, Mr. Black stated that he would not answer questions about nondisclosure agreements,” Comer said. “Answers about the terms and contents of these non-disclosure agreements are critical to our investigation. For this reason, today I issued a subpoena to Mr. Black to enter into non-disclosure agreements and appear to testify in the near future.”
Representative Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, told reporters he supports Comer’s subpoena.
“Non-disclosure agreements are critical to understanding what actually happened,” Garcia said.
Black’s lawyers said in a statement that the committee’s decision was a political stunt. “Mr. Black came to her voluntarily to assist the committee. This was nothing more than a planned political stunt. Mr. Epstein had nothing to do with any non-disclosure agreements, whether they existed or not,” said Susan Estrich, Black’s lawyer.
Friday morning’s interview was conducted behind closed doors, although the committee is expected to release the transcript later, as has been the case with previous interviews.
“Of all the witnesses presented so far, this, in my opinion, may be the most groundbreaking testimony,” Comer told reporters Friday morning before the hearing began.
Black, former CEO of Apollo Global Management, He has faced questions about his past ties to Epstein for years, with scrutiny intensifying after the Justice Department released millions of Epstein-related records late last year and early this year. In 2021, Black stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Apollo Global Management.
Epstein provided financial services to Black between 2012 and 2017, according to a report commissioned by Apollo several years ago. After Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida prostitution charges in 2008, including procuring minors, Black became Epstein’s largest client, paying him a total of about $170 million in fees, according to a Senate Finance Committee investigation. Black described his work for Epstein as tax and estate planning services.
According to a copy of Black’s prepared remarks to Congress seen by the Guardian, Black wrote that he appeared to “clear the air about my relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and, in particular, why I paid him the money that I did.”
“I knew Epstein for 18 years before I paid him a dime,” the statement said, adding: “By the time I first paid Epstein in 2013, I knew he had an unrivaled network of connections to people in finance, science, politics and more.
“Looking back,” Black said, “I now know, along with the rest of the world, that Epstein engaged in horrific and dirty activities. I feel terrible for Epstein’s victims.”
In his statement, Black wrote: “I was unaware of this nefarious activity until Epstein was indicted on human trafficking charges in July 2019.” But Black admitted that he knew that Epstein had pleaded guilty to “a 2008 prostitution charge involving minors.”
Among the documents released by the Justice Department earlier this year was a document called “VISIBLE NAMES” that included Black. The document was part of the FBI’s investigation into Epstein, although it is unclear for whom the presentation was prepared and it does not indicate or claim that investigators have verified any of the allegations it mentions against the people named.
Under Black’s name, the document lists several allegations, including one claim that “Epstein told (name redacted) to give Black a massage while Black was naked.” Another allegation states that “another woman gave Black a massage and he forced her to perform oral sex.” Black has denied the charges and any wrongdoing.
In his prepared remarks Friday, Black wrote: “Let me state unequivocally that I have never abused a woman. I have never been with an underage woman. I have never engaged in sex trafficking. I have never paid Epstein for access to women. I was never blackmailed by Epstein. I was not involved in or knew anything about any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”
Three women sued Black for alleged sexual assault, allegations Black has repeatedly denied. One of the claims was dismissed, one was withdrawn, and another is pending. Black’s lawyers told the Guardian in a statement that the allegations of misconduct made against Black were false and that “subsequent events established with certainty that Mr. Black’s testimony was truthful and that his accusers’ allegations were not.”
Black denied the allegations against him in prepared remarks Friday, calling the claims “manifestly without merit” and saying the allegations were “completely fabricated.”
Another Justice Department document on Epstein’s disclosures states that “the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into the allegations against Leon Black.” No charges were ever brought against Black.
Separately, the U.S. Virgin Islands conducted a civil investigation into Black’s ties to Epstein and several women. In that case, Black agreed to pay $62.5 million in compensation for the territory. “The terms of this Agreement may not be used by anyone as evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Black,” the agreement states.
The New York Times also reported this year that Epstein introduced Black to women on multiple occasions and advised Black on paying millions of dollars to several women while suggesting ways to hide the payments, according to released Justice Department records.
A spokesman for Black declined to comment to the Times about the payments. In a separate statement to the newspaper, Black’s lawyers said the Justice Department documents “clearly show that Mr. Epstein embellished, exaggerated and lied about Mr. Black” and said Black had no knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking or that he paid any women on Black’s behalf.
In 2020, Apollo hired law firm Dechert LLP to conduct an independent review of Black’s relationship with Epstein. The firm, which said it reviewed more than 60,000 documents and interviewed more than 20 witnesses, said it saw “no evidence that Black or any Family Office or Apollo employee was ever involved in any way with Epstein’s criminal activities.”
The report also concluded that “there was no evidence that Epstein ever introduced Black or offered to introduce Black to any minor female,” and it said that there was “no indication” that Apollo retained Epstein’s services or that he invested in any fund controlled by Apollo.
Black says he fired Epstein in 2018 “after growing tired of his relentless pursuit of more and more money from me for professional services, his falsehoods and misrepresentations regarding the ’60-cent commission’ payments, and his failure to repay the majority of the $30 million call loan I provided to him.”
In March, the House Oversight and Reform Committee sent a letter to Black requesting an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein. Later that month, Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator, said in a letter that Justice Department records related to Epstein suggested that “Epstein may have served as a ‘fixer’ for women who were paid tens of millions of dollars in exchange for their silence,” and accused Black of using Epstein to hide such payments.
Black’s representatives rejected Wyden’s claims against Black as “outrageous and false” and said Wyden’s accusations were intended to serve “his own selfish political interests.”
“Mr. Black paid Epstein for tax and estate planning work and had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities,” a representative for Black told the Wall Street Journal in March. “He looks forward to answering the committee’s questions, providing further clarity and contributing to their work.”
In his prepared opening statement Friday, Black concluded that he wished he had “never met Epstein.”
“I regret ever having anything to do with him,” he wrote. “My involvement with him, the frivolous but destructive legal proceedings, and the endless rumor mill created a toxic environment for my wife and family, for which I deeply regret.”