Billionaire Leon Black hits Rep. Robert Garcia with defamation suit over Epstein remarks

Leon Black filed a lawsuit against Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) on Wednesday, alleging the congressman defamed him by making statements related to the billionaire’s relationship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Black, who helped found private equity giant Apollo Global Management, accused Garcia of making maliciously false statements, citing statements the ranking member of the House oversight committee made in interviews.In one TV interview noted in the complaint, Garcia said Black was “at the center” of Epstein’s crimes, and claimed he was one of the last people to communicate with Epstein before he committed suicide in prison. Additionally, Garcia claimed that he met with survivors who “credibly named Leon Black as someone that was involved in direct abuse of women and wasdirectly involved with Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network.” Black asserts that the statements made by Garcia are false and that traveling to appear on national television to make such statements about the inquiry into Epstein’s crimes goes beyond the purview of a member of Congress.“Based on the false statements from Congressman Garcia, Mr. Black has received scores of hateful and threatening emails, phone calls, letters, and social media posts directed at him,” the complaint said. “He has received so many of them that he had to hire a private security company to assess the physical risk against him, and that company assessed the physical risk to him and his family as ‘HIGH.'”In the filing, Black explained he has sent Garcia a letter on Oct. 19 requesting the congressman retract his statements, but did not receive a response.The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and seeks over $7 million in damages from Garcia.Wednesday’s filing is the latest in Black’s legal dispute regarding Epstein. Black paid Epstein to be his wealth adviser for years and has been scrutinized for his connections to the deceased New York financier in recent months after debate over Epstein’s life surged. He has denied any involvement or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.Black testified to the House oversight committee in June that Epstein helped him save billions of dollars as his wealth management adviser. He also said Epstein defrauded him of over $60 million in financial advisory fees by falsely claiming that they were tax-deductible.Black was then subpoenaed to give further testimony, which he refused, and subsequently filed a lawsuit challenging the House oversight committee’s move to summon him for testimony and unearth his nondisclosure agreements. He had been subpoenaed for multiple NDAs and to testify before the committee but instead sued, arguing that the subpoenas are invalid because they bear “no legitimate connection” to the committee’s purpose.HOUSE HOLDS LEON BLACK IN CONTEMPT OVER EPSTEIN TESTIMONYThe House oversight committee later voted to hold Black in contempt for not complying with its subpoenas, which was first pitched by Garcia and received the support of Chairman James Comer (R-KY).It is unlikely the oversight committee’s inquiry into Black and Epstein is anywhere near over, as the blue wave in the midterm elections will give Democrats the gavel in the lower chamber’s most powerful committee. Garcia, as the current ranking member, is slated to become chairman.The Washington Examiner reached out to Garcia for comment.