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Rep. James Comer issued the subpoena on June 26, 2026, after Black declined to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements with Epstein victims. Black faces a second deposition next month and must produce the documents.
Financial TimesThe House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to billionaire Leon Black on June 26, 2026, during a voluntary transcribed interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The order requires Black to sit for another deposition next month and to produce nondisclosure agreements reached with Epstein victims. Rep.
Who chairs the committee, told reporters the session has the potential to be the most groundbreaking deposition of witnesses interviewed so far. Lawmakers have hundreds of questions prepared, including about specific bank transactions, messages, photos and communications with Epstein victims.
Black, cofounder of Apollo Private Management, stated in his opening remarks that he was not involved with and had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.
He said he knew Jekyll but did not know Hyde, and he denied ever abusing a woman, engaging in sex trafficking, paying Epstein for access to women or being blackmailed by him. Black told the committee he first met Epstein in the 1990s and hired him as a financial adviser in 2013.
He said a prior investigation found he paid Epstein $158 million, later revised to $170 million, for tax and estate planning services.
Black added that Epstein falsely described the fees as tax-deductible 60-cent dollars, resulting in actual net payments of $158 million rather than the $95 million he expected over five years. Black said he cut ties with Epstein in 2018 after more than a year of increasing turmoil in their professional arrangements and did not learn of Epstein’s alleged abuse until the 2019 indictment.
He described Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution as an isolated incident at the time and said he now feels terrible for Epstein’s victims.
At least three women have filed lawsuits alleging Black abused them in connection with Epstein. One case remains pending after one was dismissed and another plaintiff agreed to drop her suit. A court sanctioned an attorney behind the lawsuits in April 2026 for repeatedly lying to the court and falsifying sonogram images.
Black paid the U.S. Virgin Islands $62.5 million in 2023 to avoid litigation arising from its Epstein investigation. Forbes estimates Black’s net worth at $13 billion as of June 26, 2026. The phrase “Please call Leon Black” appears approximately 300 times in Epstein files, according to NBC News.
Israeli officials announced they will send a delegation to Washington to present security interests on the Iranian nuclear file. The move follows an agreement between the United States and Iran that Israel did not join.
The HillPresident Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) shouted at each other during a private Capitol meeting on Wednesday. The dispute followed Cassidy's vote the prior day for a measure limiting presidential war powers on Iran.
thehindu.comThe U.S. military restarted strikes on Iran on Friday after an alleged breach of the ceasefire terms. President Trump described an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attack on a commercial vessel as a violation.