Billionaire Leon Black sues Rep. Robert Garcia, alleging defamation over Epstein comments

Billionaire Leon Black filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, which has spearheaded a Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Black has been the target of subpoenas from the Republican-led committee, which unanimously voted in September to hold him in contempt over his refusal to comply with those subpoenas.

Black, a former Wall Street private equity investor who had a business relationship with Epstein, sued Garcia in the Southern District of New York, alleging he “has knowingly and willfully lied about Leon Black and defamed him.” The suit cites comments from Garcia that Black was “at the center” and “directly involved” with Epstein’s crimes.

A spokesperson for Garcia didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Garcia said in a statement in September in response to a lawsuit Black filed against the committee that Black had “funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women,” adding: “Multiple women have also accused Black of sexual assault. His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable.”

In a statement about the lawsuit against Garcia on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Black wrote that “he has never abused a woman; he has never been with an underage woman; he has never been involved with sex trafficking; and, he never paid Epstein for women.”

With Democrats set to take control of the House in January, Garcia is poised to become the new chair of the Oversight Committee.

Black stepped down from the hedge fund he co-founded, Apollo Global Management, in 2021 after the firm conducted an independent review of his ties to Epstein. The review found that Black, who has denied wrongdoing tied to Epstein, wasn’t involved in Epstein’s criminal activities.

Black sat for a voluntary closed-door transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee over the summer but left before it was over. Lawmakers on the committee issued subpoenas to compel him to answer questions they said he wasn’t answering, but Black didn’t show up for a later deposition. He then sued the committee to block the subpoenas for his appearance and nondisclosure agreements tied to Epstein. The case is still being litigated.

The House later voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress. Reuters reported that the Justice Department said Sept. 16 in a statement that the “US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will review the referral of Mr. Black carefully and will not hesitate to pursue additional cases where the evidence supports.”

No charges have been filed against Black.