The US House of Representatives has unanimously voted to hold billionaire investor Leon Black in criminal contempt of Congress after he refused to give evidence and provide documents to a committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein.
The decision, reached without a recorded vote, formally recommends that the Justice Department consider bringing federal charges against Mr Black. It also renews scrutiny of the Trump administration’s handling of material connected to Epstein as lawmakers leave Washington ahead of the midterm elections.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Mr Black in June over nondisclosure agreements he had signed with women, some of whom had been linked to Epstein. It ordered him to attend a deposition and produce copies of any relevant agreements.
Mr Black did not comply and instead sued the committee, arguing that its subpoenas were invalid and exceeded its authority. His lawsuit said unnamed women and others who had, or might have had, confidentiality agreements with him wanted no association with the Epstein scandal.
The committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend the contempt proceedings. James R Comer, the Republican chairman, accused Mr Black of using his legal action to delay answering questions.
“Mr. Black is hiding behind litigation to delay having to provide answers to the American people,” Mr Comer said. “No one is above the law. Mr. Black will be treated the same as anyone else in this investigation, and his actions have consequences.”
Robert Garcia, the committee’s senior Democrat, said Mr Black had clearly violated two subpoenas. “Subpoenas have to mean something in the Congress,” he said, citing Mr Black’s payment of $180 million to Epstein and his refusal to explain “why and where and how” he had been involved.
Mr Black’s lawyers, Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler, described the contempt vote as “politically motivated and completely retaliatory”. They said their client had already supplied the committee with the “only confidentiality agreement” relevant to its investigation, and said they had filed an ethics complaint against Mr Comer without specifying the alleged offences.
Congressional records and government documents show that Mr Black paid Epstein $170 million between 2013 and 2017 for what he described as traditional tax and estate planning services. Mr Black has repeatedly said he knew nothing about Epstein’s decades-long sexual abuse of teenage girls and young women.
However, millions of pages of emails and documents released by the Justice Department have intensified scrutiny of their relationship. The material indicates that Epstein advised Mr Black on issues involving several women with whom he had sexual affairs, while Mr Black paid about $20 million to a dozen women, according to the files and notes held by congressional investigators.
