Black sues Garcia over Epstein remarks
The billionaire claims the House Oversight chief defamed him with specific accusations about his ties to the late financier.
By Marta Gray ·
Billionaire Leon Black filed a defamation lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, targeting Rep. Robert Garcia of California. The suit seeks to address comments Garcia made regarding Black's connection to Jeffrey Epstein. Black, a former private equity investor, argues that Garcia knowingly lied and defamed him.
The complaint cites Garcia’s assertion that Black was at the center of and directly involved with Epstein’s crimes. Black’s legal team stated that the representative has willfully defamed him through these specific claims. This legal action adds a new front to the ongoing dispute between Black and the House Oversight Committee.
Garcia currently serves as the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. The panel has led a congressional investigation into Epstein. In September, the committee unanimously voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress. Lawmakers made this move after Black refused to comply with subpoenas to answer questions about his past.
A spokesperson for Garcia did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new lawsuit. In September, Garcia responded to a previous suit filed by Black against the committee. He stated then that Black funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women. Garcia also noted that multiple women have accused Black of sexual assault and called his unwillingness to cooperate unacceptable.
A spokesperson for Black issued a statement on Wednesday regarding the new filing. The representative wrote that Black has never abused a woman or been with an underage woman. The statement further clarified that Black was never involved with sex trafficking and never paid Epstein for women.
Black stepped down from Apollo Global Management in 2021 after an independent review of his ties to Epstein. That review found no evidence of his involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities, a finding Black has supported. He sat for a voluntary closed-door interview with the committee over the summer but left before it concluded.
The committee subsequently issued subpoenas to compel his testimony, but Black missed a later deposition. He then sued to block those subpoenas, a case that remains in litigation. The House voted to hold him in contempt, and the Justice Department said on Sept. 16 that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia would review the referral carefully. No charges have been filed against Black.
