Leon Black fails to appear for US House deposition about Epstein ties

• 01Leon Black launched a lawsuit in the US district court for the District of Columbia against the House oversight committee to stop it from enforcing subpoenas for his non-disclosure agreements.
• 02Black's lawsuit argues the committee lacks authority to compel him to turn over non-disclosure agreements and that the subpoenas exceed its delegated authority.
• 03Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, called for Black to be held in contempt for refusing to testify, stating Black is defying two congressional subpoenas.
• 04James Comer, the Republican chair of the committee, issued two subpoenas to Black in June demanding he produce all non-disclosure agreements to which he is a party and appear before the committee again.
• 05Black's lawyers stated that Black had no awareness of the criminal activities that led to Epstein’s 2019 arrest and denied that Black abused a woman, was with an underage woman, engaged in sex trafficking, paid Epstein for access to women, or was blackmailed by Epstein.
• 06Comer stated that Black was hiding behind litigation and that the deposition would proceed with an empty chair for Black.
• 07Over a dozen survivors of Epstein’s abuse urged Black to comply with congressional subpoenas and stated that if Black withholds records, Congress should use every tool available to enforce them.
• 08Black previously appeared before the committee in June for a transcribed interview that ended abruptly when he refused to answer questions about non-disclosure agreements.
• 09In August, Comer threatened to hold Black in contempt via a letter to Black’s attorney if he refused to comply with the subpoenas or appear for the deposition scheduled for 3 September.

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Billionaire Leon Black filed a lawsuit to block House oversight committee subpoenas for his non-disclosure agreements, claiming the committee overstepped its authority. Committee Chair James Comer and Ranking Member Robert Garcia condemned Black's refusal to testify, with Garcia calling for a contempt citation and Comer describing the move as hiding behind litigation. Black's legal team denied any involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activities while the committee continues to pursue the deposition.