The House Oversight Committee voted unanimously to recommend holding Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he defied two subpoenas tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, a rare bipartisan rebuke that could land the billionaire in front of a federal prosecutor.
Every member of the committee, 41 in all, backed the contempt resolution on Tuesday, a striking show of unity in a chamber that rarely agrees on anything. Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, and ranking Democrat Robert Garcia both pressed the case against Black, who has refused to sit for a sworn deposition and has declined to turn over nondisclosure agreements the committee believes may shed light on his financial relationship with Epstein.
Black paid Epstein more than $180 million over several years, money he has described as compensation for "tax and estate planning" services. Democrats on the committee have characterized those payments differently, saying the funds were "used to traffic women and children." Black has not been charged in connection with any of Epstein's crimes, and his name's appearance more than 300 times in the so-called Epstein Files is not, by itself, an indication of wrongdoing.
But the committee wants answers, and Black has done everything in his power to avoid giving them.
The billionaire sat for a voluntary transcribed interview earlier this year but refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements tied to Epstein. Breitbart reported that Black walked out of that session after roughly an hour. He then skipped a July 16 deposition and failed to show for a rescheduled September 3 appearance.
Rather than comply, Black sued the committee, arguing lawmakers had "blown past" their authority and that the subpoenas bore "no legitimate legislative purpose." His attorneys, Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler, called the proceedings retaliation, "plain and simple."
Comer was unmoved. Speaking to reporters outside the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday morning, hours before the vote, he laid out the committee's position plainly.
"We've tried every way in the world to get him in...and he refused to show."
He added that Black would receive the same treatment as anyone else who defied a lawful congressional subpoena.
Comer told the Daily Mail that the committee's interest centers on whether NDAs or other confidentiality agreements have been used to conceal criminal activity. The committee reached out to Black's lawyer for comment and did not immediately receive a response.
What made Tuesday's vote notable was not just the outcome but the tone from Democrats. Garcia, the committee's top Democrat, did not hedge. In an interview with MSNBC, he said Attorney General Todd Blanche should "do his job and get a criminal conviction out of Leon Black."
That demand carries an edge. Blanche dismissed the prospect of Epstein-related prosecutions during a CNN interview in February, when he was still serving as Deputy Attorney General. Garcia's public challenge puts pressure on the Justice Department to follow through if the full House passes the contempt resolution.
If the full House votes to hold Black in contempt, the matter would be referred to the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C., currently led by Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host and Trump ally. U.S. attorneys in that office work closely with DOJ leadership, including the Attorney General's office, on major prosecutorial decisions.
The Associated Press reported that the contempt recommendation must go to the full House for a vote before any referral to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. Black allegedly paid Epstein between $158 million and $180 million from roughly 2012 to 2017, years after Epstein had already pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
The lawsuit Black filed against the committee is widely seen as a stalling tactic. The New York Post reported that Comer believes Black is trying to delay testimony until the current congressional session ends on January 3, 2027, after which the subpoena would need to be reissued by a new committee. Black's payments to Epstein, $158 million for financial advice and purported charitable work, according to the Post, led to his resignation from Apollo Global Management in 2021.
Garcia echoed the urgency in blunter terms.
"We believe that Leon Black is at the heart of the Epstein network. We need to know why Jeffrey Epstein got over 180 million dollars from Mr. Black."
Just the News reported Garcia's remarks alongside Comer's statement that "Mr. Black is hiding behind litigation to delay having to provide answers to the American people. No one is above the law."
Black is not the first high-profile figure the committee has squeezed over Epstein ties. In January, Oversight Republicans advanced contempt resolutions against both Bill and Hillary Clinton after the former president and his wife skipped three scheduled depositions. Nine Democrats broke ranks to vote against the former president; only three voted against his wife.
The pressure worked. Both Clintons ultimately sat for transcribed and filmed depositions in late February. Neither has been charged with anything.
The contrast is instructive. The Clintons resisted, faced a bipartisan threat, and eventually showed up. Black has gone further, filing a lawsuit to block the process entirely. The committee responded by escalating to a unanimous contempt vote, the strongest signal it can send short of a full House floor action.
Strip away the legal maneuvering, and the core question is simple: why did Leon Black pay a convicted sex offender more than $180 million, and what do his nondisclosure agreements cover? Black says the money was for financial planning. Democrats say it funded trafficking. The committee wants to see the NDAs. Black will not produce them.
A billionaire who can afford the best lawyers in the country has every right to mount a legal defense. But a congressional subpoena is not a dinner invitation. Comer put it directly: "Subpoenas are not suggestions." Garcia said the same thing from the other side of the aisle.
When both parties agree that a witness is stonewalling, and 41 members vote without a single dissent, the message is hard to misread.
The full House has not yet scheduled a vote. If it passes, the referral lands on Jeanine Pirro's desk. What happens after that will tell the public whether "no one is above the law" is a principle or a slogan.
Accountability does not care how many zeros are in your bank account, or at least it shouldn't.
