Welcome back to The Red Letter.
Leon Black—one of Jeffrey Epstein’s biggest financial backers, mentioned more than 8,000 times in the Epstein files, and a man accused of sexual assault by multiple women whose allegations also appear in court filings—stormed out of a congressional hearing room today.
Indignant and unwilling to answer serious questions about the nondisclosure agreements he has signed with women, the billionaire Apollo founder walked out alongside his attorneys, refusing to answer questions from the press.
Today marked a turning point. House Republicans finally subpoenaed Black. He is expected to return next month to testify under oath for the first time.
See Abi Baker shout questions at Black.
Until now, these congressional interviews have too often served as opportunities for Epstein associates and alleged accomplices like Lesley Groff, Ghislaine Maxwell, Bill Gates and others to rehabilitate their public image—to insist they knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes after his conviction as a sex offender, or to dismiss the sworn testimony of women who say they were abused.
Black did the same today with this opening statement to the committee: “I want to state clearly that I did not know about this nefarious activity until Epstein was charged with trafficking in July 2019. I did know that Epstein pleaded guilty in June 2008 to state charges relating to prostitution involving a minor. Epstein told me that it was an isolated incident resulting from a fake ID. Five years after his conviction, I gave Epstein a second chance, as did many others. I wish I had not.”
For the first time, Congress may finally be positioned to test those claims under oath.
I’ve long been frustrated that Black appears to have escaped meaningful scrutiny from the Justice Department. In this highly redacted 2019 memo by then-U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, prosecutors reference multiple Jane Does who accused Black of sexual abuse. Here is one passage:
And another:
These excerpts come from sworn testimony. Yet the 86-page memo largely focused on prosecuting the women around Epstein rather than investigating the powerful men they accused. That imbalance helps explain why we’re still here today.
As I’ve reported before, Jay Clayton—who served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York after being appointed by President Trump—also succeeded Black as chairman of Apollo, the private equity firm Black founded. According to his financial disclosures, Clayton earned at least $1.5 million in that role. It raises an obvious question: would someone in that position aggressively pursue a criminal investigation of Black, who remains embroiled in civil litigation with a woman accusing him of sexual abuse?
When I asked Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche about that relationship at the French Ambassador’s residence, he rejected the premise of my question and directed his security to remove me from the event for trespassing, even though I was an invited guest on French soil.
These are the smaller decisions that accumulate into a much larger failure: decades after Epstein’s crimes came to light, no one besides Maxwell has been criminally held accountable.
After the hearing, I spoke with Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), who was in the room as Black walked out. Her account of what happened was remarkable.
Take a listen above. And if you’re new to The Red Letter, I’d be grateful if you’d subscribe.
Thank you J Dziak, Abi Baker, It’s Time 🇺🇦, Raya, Strong & Free 🍁 - Eliza, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
