Overview
- The Oversight Committee voted unanimously on Sept. 15, 2026, to advance a resolution recommending that the full House hold Leon Black in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas.
- Committee leaders say Black failed to appear for a scheduled deposition on Sept. 3 and produced only one nondisclosure agreement after an earlier transcribed interview in June.
- Black has sued Chairman James Comer and the committee in federal court to block the subpoenas, creating parallel paths of congressional enforcement and judicial review that may delay testimony and documents.
- The subpoenas target nondisclosure agreements and testimony the committee says are needed to assess how confidentiality may have shielded Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and to examine Black’s financial ties to Epstein, which included at least $158 million in payments.
- If the full House votes to hold Black in contempt and refers the case, the Justice Department could pursue misdemeanor charges, but legal fights over scope, privacy and congressional authority are likely to determine whether evidence or testimony are produced.