Who is billionaire Leon Black and why did he walk out of the closed-door hearing on Epstein files?
The House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to billionaire investor Leon Black on Friday after lawmakers said he declined to fully respond to questions about his
The House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to billionaire investor Leon Black on Friday after lawmakers said he declined to fully respond to questions about his long-standing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, during which he reportedly paid the disgraced financier at least $158 million, AP reported. Black, co-founder and former CEO of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, stepped down in 2021 following scrutiny over his ties to Epstein. He is the 16th individual to appear before the committee as part of its wider probe into the network of wealth and influence connected to Epstein. Lawmakers said that after a closed-door voluntary interview with Black, he declined to answer questions related to non-disclosure agreements, leading the committee to issue a subpoena seeking information about the NDAs. A separate subpoena was also issued, requiring Black to appear for sworn testimony on July 16, AP reported. “This is a result of refusing to answer specific questions,” Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the committee chairman, told reporters after Black's interview. Also Read | Bill Gates says Epstein planned to blackmail him about extramarital affairs Susan Estrich, the lawyer representing Black, said the decision to serve the subpoenas was a “premeditated political decision.” She called it a “planned political stunt.” Democrats emerged from their hour of questioning Black saying he had not answered questions, and they praised Comer's decision to subpoena him.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top ranking Democrat on the committee, told reporters that “it was clear from the moment this interview started that Leon Black was not going was not going to answer critical questions.” Black was featured prominently in the Epstein files As reported by AP, Black is mentioned repeatedly in files that the Department of Justice has released related to the Epstein investigation. He also appears in a collection of birthday messages sent to Epstein that were released by the House committee last year, including a poem attributed to him that refers to “Blond, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically.” Black maintained Friday that he was not aware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity” until 2019 and that he paid Epstein for legitimate purposes, in part due to his “unrivaled network of relationships” with influential figures, AP reported. “I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde,” said Black. A 2021 review commissioned by Apollo concluded that Black paid Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017, several years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The review said the payments were for “bona fide tax, estate planning and other related services.” “I gave Epstein a second chance, as did many others.
The BriefWire