Black seeks $7.5 million in damages over Garcia’s televised Epstein remarks
A spokesperson for billionaire Leon Black said he has “never abused a woman; he has never been with an underage woman; he has never been involved with sex trafficking; and, he never paid Epstein for women.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, claimed in September that Black “funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women.” Garcia made the remarks in response to an earlier lawsuit Black filed against the committee. “Multiple women have also accused Black of sexual assault. His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable,” Garcia said.
Black filed a defamation lawsuit against Garcia in federal court in New York on Wednesday, seeking $7.5 million in damages over statements the California congressman made on national television about Black and his ties to Epstein. Garcia’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The filing came almost two months after the House voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with subpoenas the House Oversight Committee issued as part of its investigation into Epstein. As of Nov. 5, the Department of Justice had not filed contempt charges against Black.
In the complaint, Black alleges that “shortly after” his June appearance before the committee, 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 Garcia went on television again several weeks later and “lied again,” asserting that Black “was one of the last people to actually interact” with Epstein before Epstein was found dead in jail in 2019. It alleges Garcia also said he “talked to survivors that have credibly named Leon Black as someone that was involved in direct abuse of women and was directly involved with Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network.”
Black claims in the filing that those statements are false and that Garcia “knew it.” The lawsuit alleges Garcia’s statements “caused real and significant ongoing harm to Mr. Black.”
The constitutional speech or debate clause protects members of Congress from defamation suits, but only for comments made as part of legislative activities. It generally does not shield lawmakers from lawsuits over comments made in the media, The Guardian reported.
Black, whose name came up repeatedly in the Epstein files, appeared before the House Oversight Committee for a voluntary interview in late June. As reported by the New York Times, Black paid Epstein a total of $170 million from 2013 to 2017 for services Black described as tax and estate planning. The hearing ended abruptly after lawmakers from both parties said Black refused to answer questions about non-disclosure agreements. Black has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
The committee, chaired by Republican Rep. James Comer, issued two subpoenas: one demanding that Black produce all non-disclosure agreements “to which he is a party,” and another requiring him to appear before the committee again for a deposition. Black did not appear for his scheduled Sept. 3 deposition and did not produce all the agreements sought by the committee.
Black instead sued Comer and the committee, arguing that the subpoenas were “invalid” and exceeded the committee’s authority. He also argued the subpoenas would “expose women who value their privacy, who have no known or public connection to Epstein.”
At a news conference on Wednesday, Garcia, who is poised to become the committee’s next chair as a result of the midterm elections, said the committee will be “focused” on four issues, including Epstein, come January.