Billionaire Leon Black Called Out During Interview Over Epstein NDAs (Live Updates)
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Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., issued a subpoena Friday for billionaire Leon Black during the billionaire’s Jeffrey Epstein interview, forcing Black to run for office next month after he refused to answer questions about NDAs reached with Epstein’s victims.
Leon Black at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on May 1, 2018.
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Important Facts
Black is sitting in a voluntarily taped interview with the House Oversight Committee as part of its broader investigation into Epstein and his alleged abuse.
The founder of Apollo Private Management, Black has long been linked to Epstein as one of his financial clients, allegedly sending Epstein about $170 million in estate and tax planning.
Those payments have raised scrutiny that they are more than what such financial services would pay, and the New York Times. report in March that Epstein may have been used to pay off women on Black’s behalf, which the billionaire’s lawyers deny.
Black resigned from Apollo in 2021 because of her relationship with Epstein, but has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of the financier’s alleged abuse, and has denied many of the allegations women have made about Epstein.
He denied that Friday in his opening statement to the committee, according to excerpts of his opening remarks published by multiple sources. shopstelling Congress that he was “not involved in, and had no knowledge of, any misconduct by Epstein.”
Black refused to answer questions about the NDAs with Epstein’s victims, however, leading Comer—who chairs the committee—to issue a subpoena during the NDA interview and for Black to testify again about those arrangements.
Important Quote
“Of all the witnesses that have come so far, this has the potential to be the most important decision,” Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters Friday, pointing to Black’s significant relationship with Epstein.
What you can watch
Black’s interview took place behind closed doors on Friday, but the transcript is likely to be released in the coming days.
What did Leon Black tell Congress?
According to published excerpts from his initial statement, Black denied any impropriety regarding Epstein, saying, “I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde.” Black said “without a doubt I have never molested a woman,” and his opening statement said, “I have never had a young woman. I have never engaged in the sex trade. I have never paid Epstein to have access to women” and “I have never been arrested by Epstein.” The billionaire cited a previous investigation into his payments to Epstein, which concluded that he paid $158 million to Epstein — which later increased to $170 million — and that those payments were for “very important and legitimate tax and estate planning services for my family office.” The firm, Dechert, also concluded that “Epstein’s tax work resulted in billions of dollars in savings, and that all of Epstein’s work was audited by reputable law and accounting firms.” He pointed to Epstein’s “unparalleled network of relationships” to justify doing business with him, and said the financier “solved a huge housing problem for me.” Black said Epstein was dishonest in their financial arrangements, but said Epstein told him his money was “tax-deductible, ’60 dollars'” but that was “a lie,” according to the citation. CNBChe said it meant that “what I believed to be $95 million in payments to him over five years was actually $158 million.” He is a billionaire said severed ties with Epstein in 2018 “after more than a year of increasing turmoil in our professional systems.” Black alleges that he was unaware of Epstein’s alleged abuse until he was indicted in 2019, and that when he did business with Epstein after the financier was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution, he believed it was an “isolated incident” and now regrets his thinking. “Now I know, along with the world, that Epstein was doing horrible, dirty things,” Black said, as quoted by the newspaper. The Wall Street Journal. “I feel bad for Epstein’s victims.” His opening statement echoed Black’s earlier comments about Epstein, in dispute in 2020 that her relationship with the late financier was “a terrible mistake.”
What Will Lawmakers Ask Leon Black About?
Comer told reporters Friday that lawmakers have “hundreds and hundreds of questions” about Black, including certain bank transactions, text messages, photos and communications with Epstein’s victims. Comer also brought up the potential non-disclosure agreements that Black and his lawyers may have established with the victims as part of the legal disputes, and said the committee would be looking into those as well.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes estimates that Black has a fair value $13 billion from Friday morning.
What Was Epstein’s Relationship With Leon Black?
Black first met Epstein in the 1990s, and the financier helped lead the Black family before the billionaire hired him as his financial advisor in 2013. The New York Times previously report the billionaire’s services may have helped keep Epstein financially “active” after his other well-known billionaire client, Les Wexner, ended their relationship. The size of Black’s payments to Epstein has long been a source of controversy compared to what financial advisers are typically paid for such services, the Times notes, and the publication. report earlier this year in documents suggesting Epstein may have also been used to pay women on Black’s behalf. (Black’s lawyers told the Times that “Epstein embellished, exaggerated and lied about Mr. Black” and never paid any woman on behalf of the billionaire.) Documents in Epstein’s files suggest the two had a friendly relationship and spoke regularly, according to NBC News. to be aware the phrase “Please call Leon Black” appears in the files about 300 times. “As you well know, there is little I would not do for you, or at least try to do as a friend, and there is much I have done (both are known. [and] other things [will need] to remain anonymous),” Epstein he wrote in a 2014 email. The email was sent to Black and emailed to the billionaire’s assistant.
Allegations and Accusations of Blacks
Black has long denied wrongdoing about Epstein, but at least three women have filed lawsuits alleging Black harassed them about Epstein. He denied those allegations and only one remains, after one was dismissed and the plaintiff in the other case agreed to drop his case. Court again approved trial attorney in April, arguing that he “lied to the Court and to the opposing attorney in this case” about charges related to false sonogram images related to the plaintiff’s allegations. Black was also scrutinized in court for his relationship with Epstein, to pay the US Virgin Islands $62.5 million in 2023 to avoid litigation arising from its investigation into Epstein. The billionaire narrowly avoided being impeached by Epstein earlier this year, after Epstein’s accusers. it is stable lawsuit with Bank of America over institutional financing of Epstein. The lawsuit said payments Black made to Epstein, which plaintiffs say should have been flagged as suspicious.
Continuous Learning
Picasso, Van Gogh and Cézanne Helped Finance Epstein’s Client Leon Black’s Billionaire Lifestyle (Forbes)
