Overview
- House Oversight Chair James Comer issued two subpoenas during Leon Black’s closed interview, one demanding any NDAs he signed and the other compelling him to return for a sworn deposition on July 16.
- Black left the session after declining to answer questions about NDAs on his lawyer’s advice and repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes or paying for access to women.
- The Dechert review commissioned by Apollo in 2021 concluded Black paid Epstein roughly $158 million for tax and estate work and found no evidence of criminal participation, a finding Black and his lawyers cite in his defense.
- Newer scrutiny rests on Justice Department file releases and Senate Finance concerns over unusually large payments, including references suggesting Epstein sometimes acted as a middleman for payments tied to Black.
- The subpoenas escalate congressional pressure on Black and could force disclosure of sealed settlements that lawmakers say are central to understanding how NDAs, payments, and survivor silencing may have functioned in Epstein’s network.