Leon Black withdrew from Epstein House panel interview. Here’s what we know

Billionaire investor Leon Black, who paid Jeffrey Epstein for years for tax and financial advice, is facing scrutiny over his relationship with the late convicted sex offender after walking out of a closed-door interview with House investigators last month.

Black declined to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) he signed with the women after less than an hour of questioning, according to a transcript of the interview released by the commission on July 17.

Now, facing two subpoenas from the committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Black is expected to submit nondisclosure agreements to the committee by the end of next week and appear to testify on Sept. 3, according to a committee spokesman.

Coomer told reporters in June that nondisclosure agreements were “vital” to the committee’s ongoing investigation.

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Black testified in June that he was unaware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity” until the late financier faced sex trafficking charges in 2019.

Black said he and Epstein first met in the mid-1990s. From 2012 to 2017, he paid Epstein $158 million for financial and tax advice, according to a 2021 audit commissioned by Black’s private equity firm, Apollo Global Management.

According to the report, Epstein’s advice “gave Black more than $1 billion and up to $2 billion or more in value.” But the review also said that Black’s compensation to Epstein “far exceeded any amounts paid by Black to his other professional advisers.”

Black said Epstein solved “a huge real estate problem for me that none of the experts and lawyers I consulted could solve,” according to the recorded June interview.

Black also cited the 2021 audit, saying it determined he had “no knowledge of or involvement in any of Epstein’s criminal activities.”

However, the committee’s lawyers raised questions about the independence of that report, saying that Andrew Levander, a partner at the Dechert law firm, which conducted the investigation, had a relationship with Epstein.

Black said he was not aware of this.

He also said, in hindsight, that Epstein “exaggerated his fraud, manipulation and outright lying — extensively and without concern for me or my family.”

“This was a side of him that I didn’t know,” he told investigators. “I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde.”

Black has been accused of rape in three lawsuits. He described these allegations as “fabricated and baseless allegations.” Two of the cases were dismissed and a third remains pending, but the judge imposed sanctions on the attorney representing Black’s accuser, saying the attorney “lied repeatedly.”

Black’s voluntary interview was part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into the federal government’s handling of cases involving Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

From across the political spectrum, the worlds of finance and entertainment, and beyond, a number of powerful figures were named in the Epstein documents released by the Justice Department. The inclusion of the files does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing, but the fallout has led to the resignations of some prominent figures and calls for greater accountability.

Black stepped down as CEO of Apollo Global Management in 2021, following scrutiny over his ties to Epstein. His name appears more than 8,000 times in millions of documents published by the Justice Department related to the late financier.

Other notable figures to testify included billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, two of Epstein’s former aides and the former prison guard who was working the night before the financier was found dead in his cell.

Why did the committee want to talk to Black?

Black’s relationship with Epstein spanned several decades. Several committee members described Black as a central figure in the Epstein case and in the investigation. They cited money paid by Black to Epstein and accusations made by Epstein’s survivors against Black.

“He should have known about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes given how close he was to Jeffrey Epstein,” Rep. Suhas Subramaniam, D-Virginia. “Several survivors have also pointed to Leon Black as someone they were afraid of, as someone involved in some sexual offenses and as someone we need to talk to.”

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One of the three women who sued Black was Joselle Janeeva. A judge dismissed the case last year, saying Janeeva’s claims were covered by a nondisclosure agreement she signed in 2015, for which Black paid her $9 million.

Before withdrawing from the June interview, Black’s lawyers criticized the committee, saying it showed a “lack of professionalism.”

He added: “This was nothing more than a planned political ploy.”

In one government memo detailing FBI interviews with survivors, one woman recalled that Black “initiated sexual contact” after Epstein asked her to massage Black.

In an interview with CNN, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., described Black and billionaire Les Wexner as the only two men with whom Epstein had “the type of relationships that we know hundreds of millions of dollars were flowing into and financing Epstein’s criminal conduct as well as his business relationships.”

Wexner sat to testify before the committee in February.

The House Oversight Committee is not the only body in Congress questioning Black’s relationship with Epstein. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote a letter to House committee leadership in June, detailing the findings of the Senate panel’s financial investigation into the Epstein case.

“Leon Black was one of Jeffrey Epstein’s main sources of income, showering him with money at a time when he was already a registered sex offender,” Wyden wrote. “Black has not yet provided a convincing explanation regarding the creation and implementation of the extraordinary compensation plan to Epstein in exchange for the alleged tax advice.”

Wyden also pointed to a $62 million settlement Black reached with the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2023 to prevent any future prosecution related to Epstein.

What did Black say about his ties to Epstein?

When Black was asked in June about the extent of his relationship with Epstein, he said it was two-fold.

In the first several years of their relationship, he said he was “someone who had an interesting Rolodex in many different fields, whether that be in science, whether that be in academia, whether that be in politics or government or business.”

Black said he routinely saw Epstein, who introduced him to “a lot of interesting people.” Later in their relationship, Epstein took on a professional role to help with the Black family’s business, he said.

Black did not describe his relationship with Epstein as a friendship, saying they “were never best friends.” However, the commission’s lawyers pointed to a poem Black wrote to Epstein on his 50th birthday, signing it, “Best of all, Happy Birthday my dear friend, Jeffrey. Love and kisses, Leon.”

Black maintained that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities before he was charged in 2019. He also told investigators that he never assaulted women, was with underage women, engaged in sex trafficking, or was blackmailed by Epstein.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Black said he was aware of the charges, but Epstein told him it was “an isolated incident resulting from a fake ID.”

He said it appeared to him and “many others” that Epstein had “redeemed himself,” as he continued to serve on boards and socialize with people in academia and the arts, as well as business and world leaders.

Black said he wished he had never given Epstein a second chance after his 2008 conviction.

Black said his relationship with Epstein ended in 2018. He fired the financier “after getting tired of his relentless pursuit of more and more money from me in exchange for professional services.” He added that Epstein failed to repay most of the $30 million loan Black made to him.

“I wish I had never met Epstein,” Black said. “I regret ever dealing with him.”