Leon Black Faces a Congressional Contempt Vote for Refusing to Testify on Epstein Ties

Billionaire investor Leon Black sued the House Oversight Committee on September 3, 2026, rather than comply with a subpoena demanding his testimony and copies of nondisclosure agreements tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Committee Chairman James Comer has scheduled a markup for September 15, 2026, to consider a resolution recommending that Black be held in contempt of Congress.

No single confirmed September 2026 event explains the renewed attention. The clearest recent drivers are Black’s lawsuit and the September 15 markup, with Rep. Thomas Massie’s late-August and early-September naming of 14 people he said should be investigated as another possible factor.

Black is the billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest private-equity firms. He paid Epstein roughly $158 million over the years; an investigation commissioned by Apollo Global Management concluded the payments covered “tax, estate-planning, and other legitimate activities.” Black says he did not know about Epstein’s crimes.

The committee subpoenaed Black for testimony and for NDAs signed by women connected to Epstein. Black’s lawsuit argues that turning over those agreements would expose the unredacted identities of women who negotiated confidentiality for themselves — an outcome he says the subpoena would force. Comer and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Robert Garcia, have both said they support holding Black in contempt for defying the subpoena, making it a point of bipartisan agreement on the panel.

Key facts

Who: Leon Black, billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management
What: Sued the House Oversight Committee rather than comply with a subpoena for his testimony and Epstein-related NDAs
When: Lawsuit filed September 3, 2026; contempt markup set for September 15, 2026
How much: Paid Epstein roughly $158 million over the years, according to an Apollo-commissioned investigation
Bipartisan support: Chairman James Comer and ranking Democrat Robert Garcia both back holding Black in contempt

Timeline

November 2025 — Congress passes and President Trump signs the Epstein Files Transparency Act
December 2025 — Law’s release deadline passes
January 30, 2026 — Justice Department releases its largest batch of Epstein files, over a month past deadline
Early February 2026 — ABC News finds victims’ names left unredacted more than 500 times
February 2026 — Attorney General Pam Bondi tells Congress all files have been released; Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested by British police
March 2026 — Survivors sue the Justice Department and Google over exposure of their private information
June 2026 — Judge Emmet Sullivan rules DOJ’s redactions violated the Epstein Files Transparency Act
August 13, 2026 — Sullivan presses DOJ lawyers again, warns he could hold the department in contempt
Mid-August 2026 — Judge rules additional Giuffre v. Maxwell documents can be made public
August 26, 2026 — Judge Paul Engelmayer rejects Maxwell’s bid to overturn her conviction
Late August 2026 — Rep. Thomas Massie names 14 people, including Black, he says should be investigated
September 3, 2026 — Leon Black sues the House Oversight Committee
September 15, 2026 — Contempt markup on Black scheduled

Part of a wider standoff over the files

Black’s case is not legally connected to these other fights, but it is part of the same wider pattern: courts and Congress pressing for more disclosure of the Epstein files. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan pressed Justice Department lawyers on August 13, 2026, in a Freedom of Information Act case to explain withheld and redacted Epstein material, warning he could hold the department in contempt if the problems continued. It wasn’t the first sign of trouble: back in June 2026, Sullivan had already ruled that the department’s redactions and withheld material violated the Epstein Files Transparency Act — a violation the government conceded in its own written order. “That isn’t a threat,” he warned. “That’s a promise.” No confirmed contempt finding against the department has been reported.

Separately, in mid-August 2026, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska, who is overseeing the Giuffre v. Maxwell civil case, ruled that additional undisclosed documents from that lawsuit can be made public, rejecting Ghislaine Maxwell’s argument that they should stay sealed. The judge wrote that keeping them secret would leave the public with “an incomplete and potentially misleading picture” of Maxwell and Epstein’s conduct; any release would still have to redact victims’ identities.

Maxwell’s bid to overturn her conviction was rejected

Maxwell, convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein abuse minors, lost a bid to overturn that conviction on August 26, 2026, when U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer rejected her challenge in a 67-page ruling, calling her claims “frivolous” and “meritless.” Her family said two days later that she will not “let the matter rest” and plans to seek permission to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Maxwell has not been released, pardoned, or had her conviction overturned.

What’s actually been released, and what’s still missing

Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed and President Trump signed into law in November 2025, the Justice Department has released:

Roughly 3.5 million pages of Epstein-related material
More than 2,000 videos
About 180,000 images

The largest batch, on January 30, 2026, came more than a month after the law’s December 2025 deadline. The department has said redactions were limited mainly to protecting victims, stating that “notable individuals and politicians were not redacted.”

That promise to protect victims’ identities didn’t fully hold up. By early February 2026, ABC News found victims’ names and other identifying details had been left unredacted more than 500 times despite the department’s stated policy. Survivors’ attorneys say at least 31 child victims’ identities were improperly exposed, and some of those individuals reported being harassed afterward. Survivors sued the Justice Department and Google in March 2026 over the exposure of their private information.

Whether everything has now been made public is unsettled. Attorney General Pam Bondi told Congress in February 2026 that all the files had been released, even as reporting at the time said the department still held roughly 3 million additional pages. Rep. Thomas Massie has continued to say, as recently as this month, that material Congress hasn’t seen remains outstanding; in late August he named 14 people on the House floor — including Black and JPMorgan executive Jes Staley, among others — whom he said should be investigated, and launched a petition to force a vote on a second transparency law. None of the 14 has been shown to be formally charged with a crime over Epstein.

What the files show about the people named in them

Being mentioned in Epstein’s correspondence is not, on its own, evidence of wrongdoing. CNN has reported that the released records include communications involving Bill Gates and Elon Musk. Britannica’s Epstein Files timeline separately cites records showing Donald Trump flying on Epstein’s plane in the 1990s, decades before he was president; nothing in the material reviewed shows Trump engaged in wrongdoing related to Epstein. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by British police in February 2026 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, tied to emails suggesting he shared UK trade documents with Epstein; he was released, and Thames Valley Police say the investigation continues with no charge confirmed.

Fake photos, forged letters and other hoaxes

The Justice Department’s own release notice warned that the production could include “fake or falsely submitted” images, documents or videos, because it included everything the public had sent to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) — and it has separately said a forged letter purporting to show Epstein writing to Larry Nassar, and a fake video purporting to show Epstein’s death, are not authentic. Fact-checking groups, including Snopes, have identified numerous AI-generated images falsely showing Epstein alongside public figures; none of the fabricated images they reviewed were part of the actual DOJ release.

What happens next

The House Oversight Committee’s contempt markup on Black is set for September 15, 2026; no contempt finding has actually been entered against him yet, and Tuesday’s vote will decide whether the committee moves forward. Maxwell’s family has said she intends to seek permission to appeal her case to the Second Circuit, though no filing date has been reported. And the Sullivan case in Washington remains open, with the judge continuing to press the department over what it has and hasn’t turned over.