Leon Black sues congressman Robert Garcia for defamation

Billionaire Leon Black filed a defamation lawsuit against Representative Robert Garcia of California on Wednesday, accusing the House Oversight Committee's top Democrat of having "knowingly and willfully lied" about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The suit, filed in the Southern District of New York, names the ranking member of the panel that has spearheaded the chamber's Epstein investigation — and that voted unanimously in September to hold Black in contempt of Congress.

Democrats are set to take control of the House in January, and Garcia is poised to become the committee's new chair. Black already has one lawsuit running against the committee itself, filed to block its subpoenas for his testimony and for nondisclosure agreements tied to Epstein. Wednesday's filing opens a second front, against the man who would lead the investigation.

The statements at issue are quoted in the complaint. Garcia said Black was "at the center" and "directly involved" in Epstein's crimes, and in September declared that Black had "funded Epstein's abuse and trafficking of women," adding that multiple women have accused Black of sexual assault. A spokesperson for Black responded 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."

Black paid Epstein more than 150 million dollars for tax advice — a business relationship that ended his career at Apollo Global Management, the firm he co-founded, in 2021. An independent review commissioned by Apollo found that Black was not involved in Epstein's criminal activities.

The record preceding the lawsuit traces an escalating standoff. Black sat for a voluntary closed-door interview with the committee over the summer and left before it ended. He did not appear for a later deposition. Lawmakers issued subpoenas to compel the answers they said he was avoiding; Black sued to block them, and that case is still in litigation. The House then voted to hold him in contempt, and the Justice Department said in a September 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."

Committee investigations run on congressional schedules. Defamation suits run on the court's calendar — and on the parties' respective legal budgets, which look different to a billionaire than to a congressman whose gavel arrives in January. A spokesperson for Garcia did not respond to a request for comment.

No charges have been filed against Black.