By Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Leon Black told a U.S. congressional panel on Friday that he had no involvement or knowledge of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's "heinous conduct."
"Let me state unequivocally that I have never abused a woman. I have never been with an underage woman," Black told members of the House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee, according to a copy of his opening statement.
"I have never engaged
in sex trafficking," he said. "I have never paid Epstein for access to women. I was never blackmailed by Epstein."
Black is the latest individual connected to Epstein to appear for a private interview with the panel investigating the federal government's Epstein probe. Epstein, a prominent financier who socialized with many political and business leaders, pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges and served 13 months in jail.
He was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide.
Black stepped down as the head of private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021 after a review by an outside law firm found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning. He also paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2023 to avoid any legal claims tied to an Epstein-related investigation.
Black has faced several lawsuits from women alleging sexual abuse. Two were dismissed and a third is ongoing. Black has denied all allegations and has not been criminally charged.
COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN COMER'S CONCERNS
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said the panel has hundreds of questions for Black about financial transactions and communication with survivors.
"Of all the witnesses that have come thus far, this one has the potential to be the most groundbreaking deposition, in my opinion," Comer told reporters.
Black told the committee he would voluntarily answer questions about his payments to Epstein and the work he provided but would not discuss his personal life.
Black testified that he had known Epstein for 18 years before giving him a dime. He said Epstein helped him to solve a "massive estate problem."
Black said he was aware of Epstein's 2008 guilty plea but was told "it was an isolated incident resulting from a fake ID." He said he regretted giving Epstein a second chance in 2013 and severed ties in 2018 "after more than a year of increasing turmoil in our professional arrangements."
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Edmund Klamann)
