House Panel Releases Transcript of Leon Black Interview on Ties to Epstein Associate

The House Oversight Committee on Friday released the transcript of a June 26 interview with billionaire financier Leon Black. The session lasted less than an hour before Black's attorneys ended it after the panel served subpoenas for nondisclosure agreements and a follow-up appearance.

Committee members questioned Black about payments totaling approximately $158 million to an associate for tax and estate planning services. Black said he initially believed the fees would total about $95 million and that the advice saved him between $1 billion and $2 billion.

Black defended the payments but said the associate misled him into believing the fees were tax-deductible. In 2023 he paid the U.S. Virgin Islands a $62.5 million settlement after being sued over financial support of the associate. Black told the panel he was introduced to the associate in the 1990s and continued the relationship because of influential connections the associate provided.

He said the associate introduced him to numerous high-profile figures, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

The committee also asked Black about a poem he contributed to a book compiled to commemorate the associate's 50th birthday.

“We were never best friends. Was I friendly with him from the point of view of enjoying his Rolodex? Yes. Did I think he was very smart as a professional adviser? Yes.”

Black said he removed the associate from the board of his family's foundation after a 2008 conviction. He said the relationship ended completely in 2018 over the associate's "relentless pursuit of more and more money" and failure to repay a $30 million loan.