Leon Black sues US House committee to block Epstein subpoenas after skipping deposition

Legal challenge against congressional subpoenas

Leon Black, the co-founder and former chief executive of Apollo Global Management, filed a federal lawsuit on 3 September 2026 against the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The legal filing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia arrived as Black skipped a scheduled deposition regarding his ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The complaint asks a federal judge to declare two congressional subpoenas invalid and prevent the committee from enforcing them. Black contends that the panel exceeded its constitutional authority by seeking personal records and nondisclosure agreements unrelated to any legitimate legislative purpose. His legal team argued that the inquiry has abandoned its stated focus on Epstein.

The Committee is on a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and completely ignores its responsibility. This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr Black.

Lawmakers divide over contempt proceedings

Congressional leaders offered contrasting reactions to Black's refusal to attend the Thursday session. Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, called for immediate punitive action, urging the panel to initiate contempt proceedings against the billionaire. Holding an individual in contempt requires a full vote on the House floor, followed by a referral to the US attorney for the District of Columbia for possible grand jury presentation. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, criticized Black for evading testimony but did not commit immediately to a contempt vote. Comer stated that the committee proceeded with the scheduled deposition record with an empty chair set aside for Black while leadership evaluated subsequent enforcement measures.

His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable. We must hold him in contempt immediately.

Nondisclosure agreements and financial ties

The dispute originates from a private voluntary interview on 26 June 2026, during which Black refused to answer questions regarding nondisclosure agreements connected to Epstein. Committee investigators served Black with two subpoenas during that session, ordering him to turn over the agreements and return for a formal deposition. Department of Justice files released under recent congressional transparency legislation have repeatedly cited Black, who paid Epstein tens of millions of dollars for tax and estate planning. Black stepped down from his executive role at Apollo in 2021 following public scrutiny over those payments. He maintained that he was unaware of Epstein's illicit conduct until federal sex-trafficking charges were filed in July 2019, though he acknowledged awareness of Epstein's 2008 state conviction in Florida.

Survivor demands and historical timeline

Before the scheduled deposition, more than a dozen survivors of sexual abuse committed by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell signed a joint letter on 2 September 2026 urging Black to cooperate fully with investigators. The survivors stated that congressional scrutiny of Black's nondisclosure agreements is necessary to clarify the financial and social network that enabled Epstein's operations. The letter urged lawmakers to employ all available legal mechanisms to enforce compliance if records remain withheld. The congressional inquiry operates separately from ongoing Department of Justice investigations into Epstein's associates, which have previously examined interactions involving figures such as Bill Clinton, Howard Lutnick, and Bill Gates.