Billionaire investor Leon Black, who for years paid Jeffrey Epstein for tax and financial advice, is facing scrutiny over his relationship with the late convicted sex offender after walking out of a closed-door interview with House investigators last month.
Black refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) he signed with women less than an hour into questioning, according to a transcript of the interview that the committee released July 17.
Now, facing two subpoenas from committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Black is expected to provide the NDAs to the committee by the end of next week, and appear for a deposition Sept. 3, according to a committee spokesperson.
Comer told reporters in June that the NDAs were "vital" to the committee's ongoing investigation.
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Black said in his June testimony that he did not know about Epstein's "nefarious activity" until the late financier faced sex-trafficking charges in 2019.
Black said he and Epstein first met in the mid-1990s. From 2012 to 2017, he paid Epstein $158 million for financial and tax advice, according to a 2021 review commissioned by Black's private equity firm, Apollo Global Management.
Epstein's advice "conferred more than $1 billion and as much as $2 billion or more in value to Black," according to the report. But the review also said Black's compensation to Epstein "far exceeded any amounts Black paid to his other professional advisors."
Black said Epstein solved "a massive estate problem for me, that none of the experts and lawyers I consulted had been able to solve," according to the transcribed June interview.
Black also cited the 2021 review, saying it determined he "had no awareness of or involvement in any of Epstein's criminal activities."
However, the committee's lawyers raised questions about that report's independence, saying Andrew Levander, partner of the Dechert law firm, which carried out the investigation, reportedly had a relationship with Epstein.
Black said he was unaware of that.
He also said, in hindsight, Epstein "exaggerated, embellished, manipulated, and outright lied – prolifically and without concern for me or my family."
"This was a side of him I didn't know," he told investigators. "I knew Jekyll. I didn't know Hyde."
Black has been accused of rape in three lawsuits. He described the claims as "baseless and fabricated allegations." Two of the cases have been dismissed and the third is pending, but a judge imposed sanctions on the lawyer representing Black's accuser, saying the lawyer "lied repeatedly."
Black's voluntary interview was part of the committee's ongoing investigation into the federal government's handling of cases involving Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
From across the political spectrum and the worlds of finance, entertainment and beyond, a number of powerful figures have been named in the Epstein documents released by the Justice Department. Inclusion in the files does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing, but the fallout has led to some high-profile resignations and calls for more accountability.
Black stepped down as CEO of Apollo Global Management in 2021, following scrutiny about his ties to Epstein. His name appears more than 8,000 times in the millions of documents the Justice Department has released related to the late financier.
Other notable figures who have provided testimony include billionaire co-founder of Microsoft and philanthropist Bill Gates, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, two of Epstein's former assistants and a former prison guard who was working the night before the financier was found dead in his cell.
Why did the committee want to talk to Black?
Black's relationship with Epstein spanned several decades. Multiple committee members have described Black as being a central figure in Epstein's case and in the investigation. They cited the money Black paid Epstein and accusations from Epstein survivors against Black.
"He had to have known about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes given how close he was to Jeffrey Epstein," Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va. "Many survivors have also pointed to Leon Black as someone they were afraid of, as someone who was engaged in some of the sexual crimes and as someone that we need to talk to."
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One of the three women who sued Black was Guzel Ganieva. A judge dismissed the case last year, saying Ganieva claims were covered in an NDA she signed in 2015, for which Black paid her $9 million.
Before walking out of the June interview, Black's lawyers criticized the committee, saying they displayed a "lack of professionalism."
"This was nothing more than a planned political stunt," he added.
In one government memo detailing interviews the FBI had with survivors, one woman recalled Black "initiating sexual contact" after Epstein asked her to give Black a massage.
In a CNN interview, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., described Black and billionaire Les Wexner as the only two men whom Epstein "had the kinds of ties where we know hundreds of millions of dollars were flowing to Epstein and financing Epstein's criminal behavior as well as his business ties."
Wexner sat for a deposition before the committee in February.
The House Oversight Committee isn't the only congressional body to question Black's relationship with Epstein. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote the House committee's leadership a letter in June, detailing the findings of a Senate Committee on Finance investigation into Epstein.
"Leon Black was one of Jeffrey Epstein's primary sources of income, flooding him with cash at a time when he was already a registered sex offender," Wyden wrote. "Black has not yet offered a compelling explanation regarding the origination and execution of Epstein's extraordinary compensation scheme for alleged tax advice."
Wyden also cited a $62 million settlement Black reached with the U.S. Virgin Islands government in 2023 to prevent any future prosecution related to Epstein.
What has Black said about his connections to Epstein?
When asked in June about the extent of his relationship with Epstein, Black said it was two-fold.
He said for the first several years of their relationship he was "somebody who had an interesting Rolodex in many different areas, whether it be science, whether it be academia, whether it be politics, government, business."
Black said he would routinely see Epstein, who introduced him to "a lot of interesting people." He said later in their relationship, Epstein took on a professional role helping with Black's family business.
Black didn't describe his relationship with Epstein as a friendship, saying they "were never best friends." However, committee lawyers pointed to a poem Black wrote Epstein for his 50th birthday that he signed, "Best of all, a Dear Friend Happy Birthday, Jeffrey. Love and kisses, Leon."
Black has maintained that he did not know about Epstein's criminal activities before he was charged in 2019. He also told investigators he has never abused women, been with underage women, engaged in sex trafficking, or been blackmailed by Epstein.
Epstein pled guilty in 2008 to charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor and was sentenced to 18 months in jail. Black said he was aware of the charges, but that Epstein told him it was "an isolated incident resulting from a fake ID."
He said it appeared to him and "many others" that Epstein had "redeemed himself," as he went on to serve on boards and socialized with people in academia and the arts, as well as business executives and world leaders.
Black said he wished he hadn't given Epstein a second chance after his 2008 conviction.
Black said his relationship with Epstein ended in 2018. He fired the financier "after growing tired of his relentless pursuit of more and more money from me for professional services." He added that Epstein failed to repay most of a $30 million loan Black made to him.
"I wish I had never met Epstein," Black said. "I regret ever doing business with him."
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