Billionaire Leon Black sues US House committee over Epstein investigation

The committee is proceeding with Thursday's deposition to formally document the Apollo co-founder's absence before discussing next steps, House Oversight Chairman James Comer said in a statement. He defended the probe's scope, saying it aims to uncover how federal authorities mishandled the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases for decades, and how Epstein leveraged powerful connections to evade justice.

Epstein was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019, and his death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a 2021 conviction for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.

"It's a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people,” Comer said. “Mr. Black’s testimony is crucial to our investigation as he was one of Mr. Epstein’s fee-paying clients and has several nondisclosure agreements."