Black sues Garcia over Epstein claims

Leon Black filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Rep. Robert Garcia, seeking damages for defamation related to comments made during the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Black, a former Wall Street private equity investor, is based in Dallas County and has faced scrutiny over his business ties to the late financier.

The suit was filed in the Southern District of New York. It alleges that Garcia knowingly and willfully lied about Black. The complaint specifically cites Garcia's claims that Black was at the center of and directly involved with Epstein's crimes. Garcia serves as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, a body that has led the congressional probe into Epstein.

Black has been a target of subpoenas from that committee. In September, the Republican-led group unanimously voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with those subpoenas. Before that vote, Black sat for a voluntary closed-door interview with the committee. He left the session before it concluded, and lawmakers later issued subpoenas to compel further answers. Black did not appear for a subsequent deposition.

Garcia responded to the new filing through a spokesperson who did not immediately comment. However, in a statement issued in September regarding a separate suit Black filed against the committee, Garcia accused Black of funding Epstein's abuse and trafficking of women. He added that multiple women have accused Black of sexual assault and called his connections to Epstein unacceptable. A spokesperson for Black issued a statement on Wednesday denying those allegations. The representative wrote that Black has never abused a woman, never been with an underage woman, never been involved in sex trafficking, and never paid Epstein for women.

Black stepped down from Apollo Global Management, the hedge fund he co-founded, in 2021. That move followed an independent review of his ties to Epstein. The review found that Black was not involved in Epstein's criminal activities, a finding Black has consistently supported while denying wrongdoing. The Justice Department reviewed the contempt referral on September 16, stating that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia would carefully review the case. No charges have been filed against Black to date.

With Democrats scheduled to take control of the House in January, Garcia is positioned to become the new chair of the Oversight Committee. Black also sued the committee earlier this year to block the subpoenas for his appearance and the nondisclosure agreements tied to Epstein. That legal battle is still ongoing in federal court.

The next major step in the process involves the January shift in House leadership. Garcia will assume the chairmanship of the committee that initiated the original subpoenas against Black. Black's lawyers will continue to litigate the existing case against the committee while simultaneously pursuing the new defamation claim against Garcia.