The House of Representatives held billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress on Wednesday.
The bipartisan move came after Black refused to provide additional information on his relationship with convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. It's the first time lawmakers have held a witness in the House Oversight Committees' Epstein investigation in contempt.
Black defied two congressional subpoenas from the House panel that was looking into his relationship with Epstein.
He did appear for a closed-door, voluntary interview in June, but he walked out before it ended. Lawmakers said he declined to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements.
The Republican-led committee subpoenaed Black to return for a deposition under oath, and to turn over any nondisclosure agreements he signed, including those he may have signed with survivors of Epstein's abuse. Instead of complying, Black filed a lawsuit against the committee and its chairman, Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, accusing them of overstepping their authority.
Addressing the committee on Tuesday, Comer said that Black "defied Congress."
"Mr. Black is hiding behind litigation to delay having to provide answers to the American people," Comer said. "No one is above the law."
Black's lawyers, Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler, called the resolution Wednesday "politically motivated and completely retaliatory." They said Black cooperated with the committee by appearing for the initial transcribed interview.
""This [is] an outrageous action that ignores the facts and the truth about Mr. Black," they said in a joint statement.
The resolution will now be sent to the Department of Justice, which will decide whether to prosecute Black.
Not the first contempt case
Others have also balked at the House committee looking into Epstein's crimes. In January, the committee voted to recommend contempt charges for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The Clintons initially fought calls to testify before the committee, saying they knew very little about Epstein and had already shared everything they knew. That vote never went to the House floor because they eventually relented and appeared for recorded depositions.
Prosecuting people held in contempt is rare, but it has happened. During the Biden administration, two former Trump advisers — Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro — each served four months in prison after failing to cooperate with the Democrats' investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
A business relationship after Epstein's conviction
Black is the co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Black's name appears in the Justice Department's Epstein files thousands of times. Appearing in the files is not necessarily an indication of criminal wrongdoing.
Between 2013 and 2017, Black paid Epstein millions of dollars. This followed Epstein's initial conviction in 2008 when he pleaded guilty to prostitution charges involving a minor under the age of 18.
During his appearance before the committee in June, Black delivered a lengthy written statement explaining that he paid Epstein over $100 million for tax and estate planning services.
Epstein's tax work saved Black "billions of dollars," he told committee members. Black stepped down from the top job at Apollo in 2021 after the payments became public. He has denied any wrongdoing associated with his relationship with Epstein.
A number of survivors of Epstein's abuse signed onto a statement commending Comer.
"By moving to hold Leon Black in contempt, Chairman Comer is sending a clear message that wealth and influence do not put anyone beyond the reach of congressional oversight," the survivors said.
They are pushing for the committee to hear from Alan Dershowitz, Epstein's former attorney, and Attorney General Todd Blanche, who oversaw the release of the Epstein files.
As it moves into its second year of investigation, 19 people have appeared before the committee. In addition to Bill and Hillary Clinton, members have spoken with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Bill Gates, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Epstein's former accountant, Richard Kahn, and former attorney, Darren Indyke.
On Wednesday, Comer introduced a bill to allow survivors to share their sexual abuse stories even if they signed a nondisclosure agreement.
Just before the resolution passed on Wednesday, California Representative Robert Garcia, the lead Democrat on the committee, said the investigation is just getting started.
"What I just want folks to know is this is an important step towards justice, but there is just an enormous amount of work to be done," Garcia said.
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