Sept. 3 (UPI) — Former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black is refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee to testify on Thursday, instead filing a lawsuit against the committee over its investigation into his connections with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Black filed the lawsuit on Thursday as he attempts to block two subpoenas for him to testify. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the committee’s ranking Democrat, has called on the committee to hold Black in contempt.
The lawsuit argues the subpoenas “exceed [the Office of Government Relations’] delegated authority in seeking private information that bears no legitimate connection to OGR’s legislative purpose.”
In a letter to the committee, Black’s attorneys said “Congress is not entitled to subpoena documents from a private citizen,” calling the subpoenas “invalid.”
Garcia said in a statement on Thursday that Black “funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women.”
“Black gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million over six years,” Garcia’s statement reads. “His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable. We must hold him in contempt immediately.”
Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement that the deposition will move forward on Thursday and he will speak with committee members about “next steps.”
“It’s a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people,” Comer said in a statement.
Black told members of Congress in a closed-door interview in June that he was not aware of the extent of Epstein’s criminal activity and denied being involved in abusing women or sexually abusing minors.
“We want to reiterate that Mr. Black had no awareness of the criminal activities that led to Epstein’s arrest in 2019,” Black’s attorneys said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Mr. Black never abused a woman. He never was with an underage woman. He never engaged in sex trafficking. He never paid Epstein for access to women. He was never blackmailed by Epstein.”
