Rights groups urge US lawmakers to drop provision to deepen defense ties with Israel

Leon Black, a billionaire investor and co-founder of Apollo Global Management, has filed a lawsuit against the House Oversight Committee in an attempt to block their subpoenas related to the investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Black refused to appear for a deposition before the committee in June and now seeks a federal court injunction to halt the subpoenas, which he argues are excessive and unrelated to legitimate legislative purposes.

According to Black's attorney Susan Estrich, the committee's actions are a "fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and completely ignores its responsibility" and is aimed at "destroy[ing] Mr. Black." The committee's top Republican and Democratic lawmakers have criticized Black's lawsuit, stating they plan to discuss holding him in contempt of Congress.

Black is accused of paying Epstein over $150 million, with a 2021 review commissioned by Apollo Global Management finding payments totaling $158 million from 2012 to 2017. Black maintains that he was unaware of Epstein's "nefarious activity" until 2019 and that the payments were for legitimate tax, estate planning, and other services.