House votes to hold Epstein associate Leon Black in contempt of Congress

The House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to find billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas related to a congressional probe into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Members passed the measure by unanimous consent one day after the House Oversight Committee voted 41-0 to recommend that the full House act against Black for refusing to fully cooperate with its investigation into Epstein.

The resolution says, “Mr. Black’s willful refusal to comply with the Oversight Committee’s subpoenas constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for prosecution as prescribed by law.”

Attorneys for Black, a co-founder and former head of the prestigious investment firm Apollo Global Management, released a statement calling the House measure an “outrageous action that ignores the facts and the truth about Mr. Black.”

“The full House is holding him in contempt without any regard to the active litigation challenging the lawfulness of the Committee’s actions and the ethics complaint against Chairman Comer,” they wrote.

Black sued the Oversight Committee this month seeking to block subpoenas it had issued for his appearance and nondisclosure agreements tied to Epstein.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business