The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday afternoon recommended holding an associate of Jeffrey Epstein in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas related to the investigations of the late sex offender and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The committee voted, 41-0, to approve its report recommending holding Leon D. Black, the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, in contempt of Congress after failed attempts at obtaining information on nondisclosure agreements involving Epstein. According to the committee-approved report, Black voluntarily participated in a transcribed interview before the committee on June 26, during which he refused to answer questions related to nondisclosure agreements involving Epstein, Maxwell and himself. In response, the committee subpoenaed Black to appear again before the committee for a deposition and to produce documents of such NDAs. Black then refused to appear before the committee for the scheduled deposition on Sept. 3 and has only submitted one NDA. Chairman James R. Comer, R-Ky., said that Black is legally obligated to provide the committee with the documents and that he cannot continue “hiding behind litigation.” “The committee wants to ensure that NDAs or other confidentiality agreements cannot be used to cover up criminal activities,” he said. “We have no choice but to hold him in contempt.” The report also states that Black “maintained a close personal relationship with Epstein for years during the time when Epstein was engaged in sex trafficking,” and that the two “had a significant financial relationship, with Black making payments to Epstein totaling over $158 million dollars, and potentially exceeding $170 million dollars.” The report also calls Black “one of the individuals most closely connected to Epstein” that the committee has attempted to interview. The committee’s ranking member, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., praised the committee for coming together on a bipartisan basis and asserted that Black is not above the law. “He believes that he's above this committee's oversight authority. He believes he is too powerful for Congress or the American people to touch,” said Garcia. “But we're going to stand up and remind Leon Black and the American people that subpoenas are not suggestions.” Following the markup, Garcia told reporters that Democrats are “encouraging a swift vote” by the full House to hold Black in contempt.
