House holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas in Epstein investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a resolution Wednesday holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress, referring the matter to the Department of Justice after he defied the Oversight Committee's subpoenas in its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.The action was swift, and without a formal vote, and now leaves it to the Justice Department to decide whether to seek criminal prosecution. Black has refused to respond to the subpoenas' requests to appear and to turn over any potential nondisclosure agreements involving the investigation into Epstein.Republicans and Democrats from the Oversight Committee joined in a bipartisan effort to advance the resolution forward.“No one is above the law,” Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the Oversight Committee chairman, said in a statement.

"We will continue to seek transparency for the American people and justice for survivors in our investigation of the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell criminal cases.”California Rep. Robert Garcia, the panel's top Democrat, called the vote “an important step towards justice and accountability.”Black's lawyers have denounced the Oversight Committee's pursuit of the former head of a private equity firm as an abuse of congressional power. They said he "had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”“The Committee has continued to insist on looking for information that does not exist,” attorneys Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler said in a statement.They called the action “politically motivated” and have sued the committee and asked the Office of Congressional Conduct to open a probe into Comer's tactics.“This an outrageous action that ignores the facts and the truth about Mr.

Black," they said.Epstein investigation churns in CongressBlack is the latest among several prominent figures, including Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, who have been asked to appear as part of the Oversight Committee's long-running probe of Epstein. Survivors of Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse have told personal stories of being young women in a trafficking enterprise organized by Epstein and his colleague Maxwell.In June, Black did appear for a voluntary interview at the committee. Lawmakers said later that he refused to answer their questions about the nondisclosure agreements.The committee issued two subpoenas seeking to compel Black to produce the ND…

The House approved a resolution Wednesday holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress, referring the matter to the Department of Justice after he defied the Oversight Committee's subpoenas in its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The committee accused Black of defying subpoenas as part of its investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein. The action was swift, and without a formal vote, and now leaves it to the Justice Department to decide whether to seek criminal prosecution.

Republicans and Democrats from the Oversight Committee joined in a bipartisan effort to advance the resolution forward. Black’s lawyers have denounced the Oversight Committee’s pursuit of the former head of a private equity firm as an abuse of congressional power. They said he “had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.” Source

WASHINGTON (AP) — House holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas in Epstein investigation. They said he "had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”