House Oversight Committee votes to hold Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he failed to appear for a deposition on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, with the committee citing his defiance of two subpoenas.
Black, who co-founded Apollo Global Management, refused to appear for a deposition on July 16 and later on September 3, despite the committee's request to delay the deposition to September 3. The Oversight Committee voted unanimously to approve the contempt recommendation, sending it to the full House.
The committee has accused Black of withholding information about payments made to Epstein, with lawmakers alleging that Black paid $180 million in payments to Epstein during their yearslong relationship. Black's lawyers have denounced the committee's pursuit of him as an abuse of congressional power, claiming he had no knowledge of Epstein's conduct.
Black's lawyers have sued the committee and asked the Office of Congressional Conduct to open a probe into Committee Chair James Comer's tactics, calling the action 'politically motivated' and 'outrageous'.