‘Laughable’: Top House Democrat skewers billionaire Leon Black lawsuit over Epstein subpoena

California Representative Robert Garcia said Black, under scrutiny for his ties to the late pedophile financier, should be held in contempt of Congress.WASHINGTON (CN) — California Representative Robert Garcia on Thursday slammed a lawsuit filed by billionaire investor Leon Black after he refused to comply with a congressional subpoena and skipped a House Oversight Committee deposition on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.The oversight panel’s top Democrat said his colleagues should move ahead with proceedings to hold Black — who has said lawmakers overstepped their authority with their probe — in contempt of Congress.Black, a private equity CEO, has been a key figure in the House’s investigation into Epstein and his sex crimes. The founder and former head of Apollo Global Management was one of several influential people mentioned in Justice Department documents from its own probe into Epstein. Lawmakers say he gave the late financier and convicted pedophile hundreds of millions of dollars for investment advice.The Oversight Committee in June met with Black for a closed-door interview, but members of the panel said the billionaire refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements he signed with Epstein. Lawmakers approved a pair of subpoenas aimed at forcing him to turn over that information.The subpoenas also demanded Black sit for a deposition with the Oversight Committee, scheduled for Thursday. But in the hours before he was scheduled to meet with lawmakers, Black filed a lawsuit against Congress claiming the panel had illegally requested private information.Speaking to reporters on the House steps Thursday morning, Garcia said the suit was “laughable.”“It’s incredibly unserious,” the California Democrat said. “He along with Les Wexner are the two key financial figures in this whole investigation, so it’s not acceptable that he’s not coming in.”Wexner, another billionaire tied to Epstein, said in a five-hour deposition with the Oversight Committee in February he’d been “duped” by the late financier. He said he’d cut ties with Epstein in the mid-2000s after learning Epstein had been involved in criminal activity.Black, Garcia told reporters, was “friends” with Epstein and continued to be friendly with him even after he “knew of Epstein’s crimes.” He said lawmakers knew of at least $180 million the billionaire had paid Epstein during their relationship.“There’s no question that that money was used to fund the sex trafficking and abuse of women and children,” Garcia said.The top Democrat said he would speak with Kentucky Representative James Comer, chairman of the Oversight Committee, about moving forward with a vote to hold Black in contempt of Congress.Asked for comment on such a vote, a spokesperson for Comer referred Courthouse News to the Kentucky Republican’s statement Thursday morning. He said he would “speak with our members about next steps” after Black’s refusal to appear.“It’s a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people,” Comer said. “Mr. Black’s testimony is crucial to our investigation as he was one of Mr. Epstein’s fee-paying clients and has several nondisclosure agreements.”Garcia on Thursday argued Black’s lawsuit was timed to coincide with the forthcoming congressional recess — members will be out of Washington from the end of September and through the month of October as they campaign for the midterm elections.“What he’s trying to do is slow the process of getting us the information,” Garcia said. “He’s very aware that Congress is in session for a certain amount of time before the recess, and he’d very aware Comer is no longer going to be the chairperson.”Garcia, who would likely be chairman of the Oversight Committee should Democrats retake the House in November, affirmed the panel’s scrutiny of Black and the Epstein files would continue under his leadership.“If Chairman Comer does not begin the contempt process against Mr. Black by the end of this Congress, I certainly will if I am the chair,” he said.Black, for his part, has long denied any foreknowledge of Epstein’s sex crimes. He told the Oversight Committee in June he became aware of the late financier’s criminal activity in 2019, the same year Epstein was arrested in New York and later died by suicide.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads