Billionaire financier Leon Black participated in a voluntary interview with the House Oversight Committee on June 26, but the session concluded abruptly when the committee served him with subpoenas for a second interview and copies of specific nondisclosure agreements while the initial meeting was still in progress. The committee released the transcript of the interview on Friday, noting that the proceedings lasted less than an hour before Black’s legal team ended the session.
Susan Estrich, an attorney representing Black, described the committee’s issuance of the subpoenas as a “planned political stunt.” The committee is focused on obtaining various nondisclosure agreements signed by Black. Previously released emails indicate that Jeffrey Epstein provided input on Black’s personal matters, including an email from September 21, 2015, regarding a six-year affair Black had with a Russian model named Guzel Ganieva. Black confirmed to the panel that he had informed Epstein about the affair and the woman’s alleged “blackmail and extortion.” Following the signing of an NDA, Ganieva sued Black for rape and defamation, though she denied his allegations of extortion. Lawyers for Ganieva stated in the lawsuit that Black was never extorted by her.
Black denied that Epstein was involved in negotiating that agreement and claimed Epstein had no knowledge of any other NDAs he had signed. He further testified that the terms of these agreements prohibited him from discussing them on the record without a subpoena. Black explained that he was introduced to Epstein by a mutual friend in the 1990s and maintained the association because of the influential network Epstein provided, which included figures such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
A 2021 report commissioned by Apollo Global Management, the firm founded by Black, determined that he paid approximately $158 million to Epstein for estate and tax planning services, characterizing the work as legitimate. Black defended these payments during the interview, though he noted that Epstein had misled him regarding the tax-deductibility of the fees, leading him to underestimate the total cost. Additionally, committee staff questioned Black about a poem he contributed to a book compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The book contained messages from numerous associates, some referencing Epstein’s relationships with women. Black’s entry included the lines: “Blond, red, or brunette spread out geographically, with this net of fish Jeff’s now the old man and the sea.”
When asked to explain the comment, Black testified that he meant Epstein traveled extensively and enjoyed the company of attractive women. Although he referred to Epstein as his “best friend” in the book, Black told the committee that they were not actually close in that capacity, stating, “We were never best friends. Was I friendly with him from the point of view of enjoying his Rolodex? Yes. Did I think he was very smart as a professional adviser? Yes.”
Epstein had been appointed to the board of directors of Black’s family foundation in 1997, but Black stated that he removed him following his 2008 arrest and conviction. Black estimated that he saw Epstein roughly every three to four weeks prior to that time and frequently attended events at Epstein’s townhouse. The two men did not completely sever ties until 2018, which Black attributed to Epstein’s “relentless pursuit of more and more money from me for professional services, his mistruths and misrepresentations” and his failure to repay a $30 million loan. Black is scheduled to appear before the committee again in September under subpoena.
