The less-than-an-hour interview offers a new window into Congress’ Epstein document hunt. It also shows the fight over how far lawmakers can push former associates for records.
The House Oversight Committee questioned Leon Black about Jeffrey Epstein, the birthday book and their friendship, then released the transcript on Friday showing why the June 26 session lasted less than an hour. Black’s interview ended abruptly after subpoenas were served for nondisclosure agreements and a second appearance, according to the committee record.
Black’s attorneys ended the voluntary interview while it was still underway. Chairman James Comer’s committee is using the exchange to press for Epstein-related records and documents, while Black’s side has cast the subpoena move as political theater rather than a normal interview step.
A voluntary interview broke down fast
Black, the billionaire financier and Apollo Global Management co-founder, appeared voluntarily before House Oversight staff on June 26. The transcript released Friday shows the conversation did not become a marathon deposition. It ended in under an hour.
The breaking point came when the panel served subpoenas seeking copies of some nondisclosure agreements and requiring Black to return for another interview. His attorneys then cut the session short.
Susan Estrich, one of Black’s attorneys, criticized the move after the interview, calling the subpoenas a planned political stunt. That framing matters because it previews the argument likely to follow the committee’s next steps: whether lawmakers are gathering relevant records or staging confrontations around one of the most politically combustible names in America.
The committee’s view is different. By releasing the transcript, it signaled that Black’s relationship with Epstein, his private agreements and his written messages are now part of a larger congressional effort to examine Epstein-related materials.
The birthday book became evidence
One of the more striking lines of questioning focused on a book compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The book included messages, letters and drawings from Epstein’s social and business orbit, some of them referencing women in ways that now read very differently in light of Epstein’s later criminal history.
Black was asked about a poem he contributed. According to the transcript cited by CBS News, the message included the line: “Blond, red, or brunette spread out geographically, with this net of fish Jeff’s now the old man and the sea.”
Asked what he meant, Black testified that Epstein seemed to know women around the world, traveled often and was a bachelor who enjoyed the company of attractive women. The answer was an attempt to frame the message as a social observation, not evidence that Black knew about criminal conduct.
The committee also pressed him on the tone of the note. Black had referred to Epstein as his “best friend” and signed off with “Love and kisses, Leon.” Black told the panel that the phrase overstated the relationship. He said they were never best friends, though he acknowledged he was friendly with Epstein and valued his Rolodex and professional advice.
Black described access, not intimacy
Black’s testimony placed Epstein in the world of access: introductions, elite gatherings and professional services. He said he met Epstein through a mutual friend in the 1990s and continued associating with him because Epstein connected him to influential people.
Black told the committee Epstein introduced him to prominent figures including Elon Musk, Bill Gates and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. That is one reason congressional investigators are still interested in Epstein’s network years after his death: the story is not only about one man’s crimes, but about how he maintained credibility and proximity to power.
Black also said he saw Epstein roughly once every three to four weeks before Epstein’s 2008 arrest and conviction. Epstein had been appointed in 1997 to the board of directors of Black’s family foundation, Black testified, and Black said he removed him after the 2008 case.
Even so, Black said he did not fully cut ties with Epstein until 2018. He attributed the break to Epstein’s pursuit of more money for professional services, alleged misrepresentations and what Black described as Epstein’s failure to repay most of a $30 million loan.
The NDA fight is the real pressure point
The subpoenas were not only about the birthday book. They also sought nondisclosure agreements, which are often difficult territory for investigators because they can restrict what a witness says publicly or on the record.
Emails previously released by the panel show Epstein weighed in on Black’s personal affairs, including advice tied to an NDA negotiation involving Guzel Ganieva, a Russian model with whom Black has acknowledged a yearslong affair. Ganieva later brought serious claims against Black, which he denied; the lawsuit was unsuccessful.
Black told the committee Epstein was not involved in the negotiations and was not aware of other NDAs Black had signed. He also said the terms of those agreements prevented him from speaking about them on the record unless he had a subpoena.
That is why the committee’s subpoena timing matters. To investigators, subpoenas may be the tool that unlocks documents and testimony. To Black’s lawyers, serving them during a voluntary interview looked like an ambush. Both readings can exist at once, which is why the next round may be more contentious than the first.
Money remains part of the shadow
Black has long faced scrutiny over the scale of his financial relationship with Epstein. A 2021 report commissioned by Apollo Global Management concluded that Black paid Epstein about $158 million for tax and estate planning services and found the work was legitimate.
In the House interview, Black defended those payments. He said Epstein had misled him into believing certain fees were tax-deductible, causing him to underestimate the cost. Black still suggested Epstein’s advice had been financially valuable, estimating it saved him between $1 billion and $2 billion.
Black also reached a $62.5 million settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2023 after being sued over his financial support of Epstein. The congressional transcript does not turn that civil history into a finding of wrongdoing, but it explains why lawmakers keep returning to money, services and records.
Black denied in his opening statement that he was involved in or had knowledge of Epstein’s alleged abuse of women, sex with underage women or sex trafficking, beyond what he learned from Epstein’s 2008 plea deal. He also said he never paid Epstein for access to women.
What the committee wants next
Black is scheduled to return before the committee under subpoena in September. That gives the panel another chance to seek sworn answers about documents it says are relevant to its Epstein inquiry.
The unresolved questions are practical and political. Will Black produce the NDA records the committee wants? Will his attorneys challenge the scope or handling of the subpoenas? Will the panel release more transcripts or documents from other Epstein associates?
The birthday book detail is the attention-grabber, but the larger story is about documentation. Congress is trying to reconstruct the social, financial and legal architecture around Epstein. Former associates are trying to limit what they are required to disclose, especially when private agreements and reputational risk are involved.
For now, the transcript shows a short interview with a long tail. A poem, a disputed friendship, multimillion-dollar advice and a subpoena fight are all converging in a House investigation that is still widening rather than winding down.
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