House holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress over Epstein investigation
Sep 16, 2026, 11:55 AM | Updated: 12:36 pm
FILE - Leon Black, a billionaire who was close with Jeffrey Epstein, arrives for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee at the Capitol in Washington, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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.
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.”
