Leon Black sues US Congressman Robert Garcia for $7.5 million over Epstein comments | Jeffrey Epstein

Billionaire Leon Black has filed a defamation suit against California Rep. Robert Garcia, accusing the lawmaker, who is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, of making false statements about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and the disgraced financier’s sex trafficking crimes.

The filing, filed Wednesday in New York federal court, comes nearly two months after the House voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with subpoenas issued by the House Oversight Committee as part of the panel’s investigation into Epstein. As of November 5, the Justice Department had not filed contempt charges against Black. Garcia’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In late June, Black, whose name appeared several times in Epstein’s files and who, as The New York Times reported, paid Epstein a total of $170 million for what he described as tax and estate planning services from 2013 to 2017, appeared before the oversight committee for a voluntary interview. The hearing ended abruptly after lawmakers from both parties said Black refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements. Black has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

The committee, chaired by Republican James Comer, issued two subpoenas: one demanding that Black produce all NDAs “to which he is a party” and another demanding that he appear before the committee again for a deposition. But Black did not show up for his scheduled deposition on September 3 and did not produce all of the NDAs requested by the committee.

Black instead sued Comer and the committee, arguing that the subpoenas were “invalid” and beyond the committee’s authority. He also argued that the subpoenas would “expose women who value their privacy, who have no known or public connection to Epstein.”

In his Wednesday lawsuit, Black, who is seeking $7.5 million in damages, claims that “shortly after” his appearance before the commission in June, Garcia “went on national television and lied to the American people, claiming that ‘Leon Black is at the center of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.’

The lawsuit alleges that several weeks later, Garcia returned to television and “lied again” and claimed that Black “was one of the last people to actually interact” with Epstein before he was found dead in prison in 2019, and the lawsuit alleges that Garcia said he “spoke to survivors who credibly named Leon Black as someone involved in direct abuse of women and directly involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking ring.”

Black claims in the filing that these statements are false and that Garcia “knew it.” Black’s lawsuit alleges that Garcia’s statements “caused real and substantial harm to Mr. Black.”

The Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause protects members of Congress from defamation suits, but only for comments made in the course of legislative business. This generally does not protect them from legal action following comments made in the media.

In September, in response to Black’s lawsuit against the committee, Garcia claimed that Black “funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women” and said, “Several women have also accused Black of sexual assault. His ties to Epstein and his refusal to cooperate are unacceptable.”

A spokesperson for Black said the billionaire had “never abused a woman; he had never been with an underage woman; he had never been involved in sex trafficking; and he had never paid Epstein for women.”

At a news conference Wednesday, Garcia, who is set to become the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee following the midterm elections, said the committee would focus on four issues, including Epstein, in January.