The House Oversight Committee took the unusual step yesterday of issuing subpoenas mid-hearing to force an uncooperative witness — Jeffrey Epstein’s former client Leon Black — to answer questions about secret out-of-court legal settlements he may have made with young women.
Black, who has denied any wrongdoing and insists he didn’t know about Epstein’s crimes, abruptly left the hearing after the Committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, issued the subpoenas during the closed-door meeting on Friday.
Black’s quick exit has to make one wonder just how many young women he made settlements with, especially since he also paid Epstein over $170 million for what his lawyer called “tax and estate planning services” — and in 2023, he also paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands over his ties to Epstein, who owned an island where Epstein sexually abused an untold number of victims.
Black did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the USVI settlement, but it raises questions about why he would pay such a sum if he had nothing to hide.
The sad part is Black is not the only one who has used his wealth to shield himself from scrutiny over his association with the notorious sex trafficker.