Leon Black sues Democrat Congressman Robert Garcia over alleged false statements linking him to Epstein

(Bloomberg) -- Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black sued a Congressman from California for allegedly making false statements about the billionaire’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black sued Congressman Robert Garcia for allegedly making false statements about the billionaire’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo, AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein )Black alleged in the defamation lawsuit that Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, “lied to the American people, claiming that ‘Leon Black is the center of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes,’” after Black had told the committee in a voluntary interview in June that he “had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and took no part in them.”Black made the claims in a complaint filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. He’s seeking $7.5 million in damages from the congressman.Also Read | The races that flipped Congress: Key contests that cost Trump’s Republicans the House and SenateGarcia, who’s set to lead the House Oversight Committee after Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm election, vowed to investigate the alleged cover-up of the Epstein files among other matters, according to a statement Tuesday. “LAWYER UP,” Garcia warned targets of future probes in an X post.Garcia’s office didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment on Black’s lawsuit.Black left the committee interview in June after refusing to answer questions about non-disclosure agreements with women connected to Epstein. The panel issued subpoenas requiring him to provide copies of the NDAs and to appear for additional testimony in September. Instead, Black sued the committee and its current chairman, Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, in federal court in Washington claiming the subpoenas were invalid.Also Read | Ilhan Omar celebrates Abdul El-Sayed's midterms win, notes 8 Muslims would now serve in CongressThe House voted in September to hold Black in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with the two subpoenas.In the suit filed Wednesday, Black claims Garcia falsely said Black was one of the last people to interact with Epstein before his August 2019 suicide in a Manhattan federal jail. Black also accused the congressman of lying by claiming survivors of Epstein’s crimes told him Black was “involved in direct abuse of women” and “was directly involved with Epstein’s trafficking network.”The case is Black v. Garcia, 26-cv-09663, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com©2026 Bloomberg L.P.