Leon Black (C), former CEO of Apollo Global Management, arrives to testify at a closed session of the House Oversight Committee at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2026.
Kevin Dietch | Getty Images
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend that the House retain its predecessor. Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black was in contempt of Congress for refusing to respond to subpoenas issued as part of the committee’s investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
The 41-0 vote on the contempt resolution came about two weeks after Mr. Black refused to testify further to the committee and refused to comply with subpoenas seeking multiple non-disclosure agreements to which the billionaire was a party.
Mr. Black filed suit against the commission in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on September 3, seeking to block enforcement of the subpoena.
“A subpoena is not a suggestion. A subpoena has the force of law and requires full compliance,” Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said at the committee meeting.
“We have no choice but to despise him,” Comer said.
“Leon Black should not be allowed to defy a Congressional subpoena,” said California Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s top-ranking Democrat.
“Our investigation aims to fight for survivors of abuse by Epstein and will develop reforms and legal reforms to ensure an end to the system that allowed Jeffrey Epstein and his billionaire friends to continue operating for years,” Garcia said.
“Unfortunately, billionaires like Leon Black believe they are above the law,” Garcia said.
Mr. Black’s attorneys, Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler, earlier Tuesday denounced the committee’s scheduled vote and asked the committee to postpone its action.
“This commission’s markup and contempt resolution is absolutely abhorrent,” the lawyers said in a statement. “The commission, under the leadership of Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Robert Garcia, has lost sight of its legislative purpose and abused its power.”
“This is retaliation, plain and simple,” Black’s lawyer said. “We have the constitutional right to sue Chairman Comer and the commission because the subpoenas issued are unjust and illegal, a classic abuse of power designed to bully civilians and destroy their legal protections.”
Mr. Black’s lawyers said in a letter to Mr. Comer and Mr. Garcia that they would file a complaint with the Congressional Conduct Office on Tuesday asking for an investigation into Mr. Comer’s conduct “which directly relates to the factual basis and integrity of the contemplated contempt proceedings.”
The complaint alleges that prior to Mr. Black’s scheduled deposition by his committee on September 3, “Chairman Comer engaged in conduct deemed to be a violation of the Rules of the House of Representatives in connection with the deposition, specifically pursuant to a business meeting scheduled for September 15, 2026.”
The letter does not elaborate on Comer’s alleged actions.
However, he added, “If substantiated, the allegations asserted in the OCC’s complaint would fundamentally cast doubt on the validity of the Commission’s contempt action against Mr. Black.”
“This allegation also raises serious concerns about whether committee members have been provided with all the information they need to evaluate the contempt resolution,” the letter states.
Black resigned as Apollo’s CEO in March 2021, two months after the company disclosed that it paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning advice between 2012 and 2017, despite knowing that Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to pimping an underage girl in Florida.
Epstein, 66, committed suicide in a federal prison in New York City in August 2019, weeks after he was arrested on child sex trafficking charges.
Mr. Black has not been charged with any wrongdoing related to his dealings with Mr. Epstein.
In a separate letter to Garcia on Tuesday, Black’s attorney said the lawmaker falsely claimed in a Sept. 11 press release that Garcia “has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women.”
“Before pointing out the falsity of this statement, and indeed it is false, it should be understood that the commission’s actions posed a serious risk to Mr. Black’s personal safety,” the attorneys wrote. “By repeatedly and publicly linking Mr. Black to Epstein’s crimes, the Committee placed Mr. Black at foreseeable risk of harassment and violence. Mr. Black escalated his death threats and was forced to take security precautions while traveling as a result of the Committee’s public attacks.”
Mr. Black’s lawyers said the harm was “the result of the commission’s efforts to portray Mr. Black as connected to the criminal conduct in which Mr. Epstein was involved, even though Mr. Black has consistently denied that he was involved in or had any knowledge of Mr. Epstein’s crimes.”
“No one, no matter how rich, powerful, or connected, can choose which lawful Congressional subpoenas they will comply with,” Comer said in a Sept. 11 statement announcing plans to increase the resolution recommending contempt charges against Black.
“Rather than give the American people answers about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Leon Black has chosen to hide behind a lawsuit, suing me and the committee and attempting to obstruct our investigation,” Comer said.
“Although the Commission offered Mr. Black multiple opportunities to cooperate, Mr. Black refused to appear for a deposition and failed to serve subpoenas related to our investigation.”
