House holds billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt over Epstein probe

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The House of Representatives held billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for refusing to comply with subpoenas as part of the congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

It is now up to the Justice Department to consider whether to pursue criminal prosecution against Black.

The move is the latest escalation in the long-running congressional probe, which has brought in at least 19 high-profile witnesses, many of whom have never been questioned about their ties to Epstein but have failed to produce the kind of revelations many lawmakers and Epstein survivors had hoped for.

The vote by the full House triggers a referral to the Justice Department and came after the oversight committee unanimously held Black in contempt on Tuesday for refusing to turn over nondisclosure agreements and appear for a deposition.

Black is currently suing the panel and House Oversight Chair James Comer to try to block the lawmakers from obtaining his documents and testimony, but lawmakers have argued that Congress is entitled to the information.

“I subpoenaed Leon Black for testimony and documents critical to our investigation. But he has refused to comply. Leon Black is legally required to appear for a deposition in front of the Oversight Committee and required to turn over all nondisclosure agreements to which he was a party,” Comer said at the committee meeting on Tuesday.

Attorneys representing Black admonished the committee for taking this step and said they have filed a confidential complaint on Tuesday with the Office of Congressional Conduct requesting an investigation into Comer.

“This Committee mark-up and contempt resolution is a complete abomination. The Committee under the leadership of Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Robert Garcia has lost sight of its legislative purpose and is abusing its power,” Susan Estrich of Estrich Goldin and Aaron Cutler of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader said in a statement.

“This is retaliation - plain and simple. We have the constitutional right to sue Chairman Comer and the Committee because the subpoenas issued were illegitimate, illegal and a textbook abuse of power designed to bully and destroy legal protections of private citizens,” they added.

The attorneys accused the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Robert Garcia, of “touting hate-filled lies about Mr. Black in the media and at every opportunity.”

“This vote is an important step towards justice and accountability. Leon Black has continued to defy two congressional subpoenas and we need to know why he gave Jeffrey Epstein $180 million dollars. We will continue to center the survivors in our fight to hold those responsible for these horrific crimes. We are just getting started,” Garcia said in a statement.

Black initially appeared for a voluntary interview in June but that ended abruptly when Comer issued two subpoenas as lawmakers said that Black refused to answer a series of questions. Instead of appearing for his deposition, Black filed the lawsuit earlier this month .

Black is one of many influential and wealthy individuals whose past relationships with Epstein have come under further scrutiny since the Justice Department’s release of millions of Epstein files.

In his voluntary closed-door June interview, Black told members of Congress that he did not know the extent of Epstein’s crimes – and that he himself never abused women or had sexual relations with minors, according to a copy of his opening remarks shared by his legal team.

“Mr. Black has repeatedly said that he feels terrible for Epstein’s victims and that he regrets ever doing business with Epstein. He 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. Mr. Black had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct,” his lawyers said in the statement shared with CNN.

In a letter to the committee obtained by CNN earlier this month, Black’s attorneys argued that the nondisclosure agreements the panel was seeking were too broad, had no connection to Epstein and disregarded the privacy interests of third parties.

凯文迪奇/盖蒂图片社/文件

周三，众议院以藐视国会罪名裁定亿万富翁投资者莱昂·布莱克拒不遵守国会传票，作为国会调查杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的一部分。

现在由司法部来考虑是否对布莱克提起刑事诉讼。

此举是这场旷日持久的国会调查的最新升级，该调查已传唤了至少 19 名备受瞩目的证人，其中许多人从未被问及与爱泼斯坦的关系，但未能提供许多议员和爱泼斯坦受害者所希望的那种爆料。

众议院全体投票决定将此案移交司法部，此前，监督委员会于周二一致裁定布莱克藐视法庭，因为他拒绝交出保密协议并出席作证。

布莱克目前正在起诉该委员会和众议院监督委员会主席詹姆斯·科默，试图阻止议员们获取他的文件和证词，但议员们辩称国会有权获得这些信息。

“我已向莱昂·布莱克发出传票，要求他提供对我们的调查至关重要的证词和文件。但他拒绝配合。莱昂·布莱克依法必须到监督委员会接受质询，并交出他签署的所有保密协议，”科默在周二的委员会会议上说道。

代表布莱克的律师谴责委员会采取这一步骤，并表示他们已于周二向国会行为办公室提交了一份保密投诉，要求对科默进行调查。

“委员会的这项审议和藐视法庭决议完全是令人憎恶的。在主席詹姆斯·科默和首席成员罗伯特·加西亚的领导下，委员会已经丧失了立法目的，滥用了权力，”埃斯特里奇·戈尔丁律师事务所的苏珊·埃斯特里奇和霍金路伟凯德律师事务所的亚伦·卡特勒在一份声明中表示。

“这显然是报复。我们有宪法赋予的权利起诉科默主席和委员会，因为发出的传票是非法的、不合法的，是滥用职权的典型案例，旨在欺凌和破坏公民的合法权益，”他们补充道。

律师们指责委员会的首席民主党议员罗伯特·加西亚“在媒体上和一切机会中散布关于布莱克先生的充满仇恨的谎言”。

“这次投票是迈向正义和问责的重要一步。莱昂·布莱克一直无视国会的两份传票，我们需要知道他为何向杰弗里·爱泼斯坦行贿1.8亿美元。我们将继续以幸存者为中心，追究那些犯下这些骇人罪行的人的责任。这仅仅是个开始，”加西亚在一份声明中说道。

布莱克最初于6月自愿接受问询，但由于议员们称布莱克拒绝回答一系列问题，科默发出两份传票，问询随即终止。本月初，布莱克没有出席作证，而是提起了诉讼。

自司法部公布数百万份爱泼斯坦档案以来，布莱克是众多与爱泼斯坦有着密切联系的富豪之一，他们过去的交往受到了进一步的审查。

据他的法律团队分享的一份开场白副本显示，布莱克在 6 月份自愿接受国会议员的闭门采访时表示，他不知道爱泼斯坦犯罪的程度，而且他本人从未虐待过妇女或与未成年人发生性关系。

“布莱克先生多次表示，他对爱泼斯坦的受害者深感痛心，并后悔曾与爱泼斯坦有过任何商业往来。他从未虐待过任何女性。他从未与未成年女性发生过关系。他从未参与过性交易。他从未向爱泼斯坦支付任何费用以换取与女性接触的机会。他也从未受到爱泼斯坦的勒索。布莱克先生对爱泼斯坦的任何令人发指的行为都毫不知情，”他的律师在发给CNN的声明中说道。

CNN本月早些时候获得的一封致委员会的信中，布莱克的律师辩称，该委员会寻求的保密协议范围过广，与爱泼斯坦无关，并且无视了第三方的隐私利益。