By Bill Chappell
Leon Black, the founder and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, has filed a lawsuit against the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Black was scheduled to testify about his dealings with Epstein under a subpoena from the committee on Thursday morning but instead opted to file a lawsuit against the committee and its Republican chairman.
Lawsuit Details
In his civil lawsuit, Black accuses the House panel, led by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), of overstepping their authority, describing the inquiry as a "public fishing expedition" aimed at scoring political points. Comer responded by calling Black's actions "unacceptable" and indicated that the committee would consider holding Black in contempt.
“"I don't think I need to tell anyone in here how important of a witness Mr. Black is to this investigation," Comer stated to journalists on Capitol Hill. "He is the first powerful individual to file a lawsuit against us."
Black, who is one of several prominent figures the committee has sought to hear from regarding Epstein's ties, has been mentioned numerous times in the Justice Department's Epstein files. However, appearing in these files does not imply criminal wrongdoing.
Legal Arguments
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the committee's authority is limited to actions that serve a "legitimate legislative purpose." Black claims that the committee has exceeded these bounds. Previously, he had voluntarily spoken to the committee in June but ended that appearance when nondisclosure agreements were brought up.
