A congressional committee issued subpoenas for Leon Black to return for a deposition and turn over materials, after lawmakers said the billionaire declined to answer some questions during an interview about his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Black's appearance Friday with the House Oversight Committee was cut short and the Apollo Global Management co-founder left abruptly at midday after a round of questioning behind closed doors.
Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the committee, said he had issued a subpoena for nondisclosure agreements and a subpoena for Black to return on July 16. "This is a result of refusing to answer specific questions about the NDAs and the terms. We believe that information is vital to our investigation," Comer said.
One of Black's attorneys, Susan Estrich, called the subpoenas a political stunt. "They made a premeditated political decision to serve him with subpoenas after less than an hour of questioning, and before they even asked a single question about these legitimate payments to Epstein," she said.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee's ranking Democrat, said he supported the subpoenas. "It was clear from the moment that this interview started, that Leon Black was not going to answer critical questions," he said.
In his prepared remarks, Black denied that he participated in Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme and said he was duped by the man he hired as a financial adviser.
"I have never abused a woman. I have never been with an underage woman," according to a copy of Black's prepared remarks that were viewed by The Wall Street Journal. "I have never paid Epstein for access to women. I was never blackmailed by Epstein. I was not involved with, and had no knowledge of, any of Epstein's heinous conduct."
Black was one of Epstein's biggest financial clients. In his prepared remarks, Black said he would answer the committee's questions about the work Epstein did for him but "will not speak about the personal lives of adult women who have not chosen, and do not deserve, to be connected, by me or anyone else, to Epstein."
Black has previously said he met Epstein around 1996 and decided to give Epstein a second chance after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. He said he hired him for tax-planning and estate services.
In his prepared remarks, Black said that he believed Epstein when he told him the 2008 conviction was for an "isolated incident" and that he regrets giving him a second chance when he hired him in 2013. He said Epstein had "an unrivaled network of relationships" with notable figures including Deepak Chopra, Elon Musk and Bill Clinton.
Black said Epstein "solved a massive estate problem for me" but also incorrectly told him the large fees he charged were tax-deductible. "What I believed to be $95 million of net fees paid to him over five years was actually $158 million," Black said.
Black stepped down as Apollo's chief executive in 2021 after an outside law firm hired by Apollo found that he paid Epstein $158 million for his tax-planning and estate services. The review by law firm Dechert found no evidence that Black was involved in Epstein's criminal activities.
"I now know, as does the world, that Epstein was engaged in horrific, sordid activities. I feel terrible for Epstein's victims. I want to state clearly that I did not know about this nefarious activity until Epstein was charged with trafficking in July 2019," he added.
The government release of FBI files showed that one Epstein victim told FBI agents in 2019 that Epstein directed her to give massages to Black and others. New York prosecutors looked into the allegations and Black was never charged. A lawyer for Black has previously said the allegations were unfounded.
In his prepared remarks, Black denied allegations made against him by women in three civil lawsuits that were filed by the law firm Wigdor. Two of the suits have been dismissed and, in the third case, the plaintiff and the law firm were sanctioned by the judge, Black said.
The committee's investigation is focused on the federal government's handling of Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. It has already interviewed former President Clinton and billionaire Bill Gates. Both men denied wrongdoing.
Black, now 74 years old, and his family own about 14% of Apollo, including trusts. When Epstein was involved in his finances, the FBI files show Black had 69 bank accounts and a fortune estimated at about $5 billion in 2015. Forbes estimates his net worth is now about $13 billion.
Black is among the high-profile names who had submissions in Epstein's 2003 birthday book. The letter with Black's name had a handwritten poem with a rhyme scheme. Two lines in the poem read:
Blonde, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically
With this net of fish, Jeff's now 'The Old Man and The Sea'
It was signed: "Love and kisses, Leon."
Write to AnnaMaria Andriotis at annamaria.andriotis@wsj.com, Lauren Thomas at lauren.thomas@wsj.com and Terell Wright at terell.wright@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 26, 2026 13:12 ET (17:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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