Billionaire Leon Black filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee leading the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Black has been the target of subpoenas issued by the Republican-led committee, which voted unanimously in September to find him in contempt of court for refusing to comply with the subpoenas.
Black, a former Wall Street private equity investor who had business ties to Epstein, sued Garcia in the Southern District of New York, accusing him of “knowingly and willfully lying to Leon Black and defaming him.” The lawsuit cites comments by Garcia that Black was “central” and “directly involved” in Epstein’s crimes.
A spokesman for Garcia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Garcia responded to Black’s complaint to the committee in a statement in September, saying Black “funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women,” adding: “Multiple women have also accused Black of sexual assault. His relationship with Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable.”
In a statement on Wednesday’s lawsuit against Garcia, Black’s spokesman wrote, “He never abused women; he never had relationships with underage women; he never participated in sex trafficking; and, he never paid Epstein women.”
With Democrats set to take control of the House in January, Garcia is poised to become the new chairman of the Oversight Committee.
Black resigned in 2021 from Apollo Global Management, the hedge fund he co-founded, following an independent review of his ties to Epstein. The review found that Black denied any wrongdoing with Epstein but was not involved in Epstein’s criminal activities.
Over the summer, Black volunteered for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee but left before the interview concluded. Lawmakers on the committee issued subpoenas to force him to answer questions they believed he had failed to answer, but Black did not attend later testimony. He then sued the committee to block a subpoena for his appearance and a confidentiality agreement related to Epstein. The case remains in litigation.
The House later voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress. Reuters reported that the Justice Department said in a statement on September 16 that “the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will carefully review Mr. Black’s transfer and will not hesitate to pursue other cases supported by evidence.”
No charges have been filed against Blake.