Leon Black walked out of an Epstein House committee interview. Here's what we know

By — Maria Ramirez Uribe Maria Ramirez Uribe Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/leon-black-walked-out-of-an-epstein-house-committee-interview-heres-what-we-know Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Leon Black walked out of an Epstein House committee interview. Here's what we know Politics Jul 17, 2026 6:44 PM EDT Billionaire investor Leon Black, who for years paid Jeffrey Epstein for tax and financial advice, is facing scrutiny over his relationship with the late convicted sex offender after walking out of a closed-door interview with House investigators last month. Black refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) he signed with women less than an hour into questioning, according to a transcript of the interview that the committee released July 17. Now, facing two subpoenas from committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Black is expected to provide the NDAs to the committee by the end of next week, and appear for a deposition Sept. 3, according to a committee spokesperson. Comer told reporters in June that the NDAs were "vital" to the committee's ongoing investigation. Watch the clip in the player above. Black said in his June testimony that he did not know about Epstein's "nefarious activity" until the late financier faced sex-trafficking charges in 2019. Black said he and Epstein first met in the mid-1990s. From 2012 to 2017, he paid Epstein $158 million for financial and tax advice, according to a 2021 review commissioned by Black's private equity firm, Apollo Global Management. Epstein's advice "conferred more than $1 billion and as much as $2 billion or more in value to Black," according to the report. But the review also said Black's compensation to Epstein "far exceeded any amounts Black paid to his other professional advisors." Black said Epstein solved "a massive estate problem for me, that none of the experts and lawyers I consulted had been able to solve," according to the transcribed June interview. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Black also cited the 2021 review, saying it determined he "had no awareness of or involvement in any of Epstein's criminal activities." However, the committee's lawyers raised questions about that report's independence, saying Andrew Levander, partner of the Dechert law firm, which carried out the investigation, reportedly had a relationship with Epstein. Black said he was unaware of that. He also said, in hindsight, Epstein "exaggerated, embellished, manipulated, and outright lied – prolifically and without concern for me or my family." "This was a side of him I didn't know," he told investigators. "I knew Jekyll. I didn't know Hyde." Black has been accused of rape in three lawsuits. He described the claims as "baseless and fabricated allegations." Two of the cases have been dismissed and the third is pending, but a jud