House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed billionaire investor Leon Black on Friday, saying he had refused to answer questions about allegations that he signed nondisclosure agreements with women tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

One subpoena is for Black to appear for a deposition under oath on July 16 and the other is for the NDAs he allegedly signed with women in Epstein’s orbit, said Comer.

Comer announced the subpoenas during Black’s voluntary interview with the committee regarding his long relationship with Epstein. The announcement immediately derailed the interview, with Black departing just an hour into it.

Black told lawmakers he would not answer questions about the terms and substance of the NDAs, on the advice of counsel, according to a person familiar with the interview. Another person familiar with the details told MS NOW that, when he was asked about it, Black’s attorney said, “We are not going to get into NDAs,” noting that the interview was voluntary and not a subpoena.

The people spoke to MS NOW on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the closed-door proceedings publicly.

Black is one of several people believed to have signed NDAs with women who have accused Epstein and his associates of sexual misconduct. Comer said prior to Black’s interview that the committee was “pretty confident” that the financier signed NDAs with some of Epstein’s victims.

Black was handed the subpoenas near the end of committee Republicans’ first hour of questioning. He took an extended break, then departed the building shortly after, bringing the interview to an abrupt end before Democrats had their turn at questioning.

Afterward, Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, dismissed the subpoenas as “nothing more than a planned political stunt” in a brief statement to reporters.

“They made a premeditated political decision to serve him with subpoenas after less than an hour of questioning, and before they even asked a single question about his legitimate payments to Epstein,” she said about the committee. “Mr. Epstein had no involvement with any NDAs, whether they exist or not. Let me reiterate, the committee did not ask a single question about the legitimate payments to Epstein for professional services on tax and estate matters.”

Black, a co-founder of Apollo Global Management, was Epstein’s main source of income for several years. From 2012 to 2017, Black paid Epstein more than $150 million for what he described as tax- and estate-planning services, far more than what he would have spent on similar services from established firms.

According to his opening statement before the committee Friday, which MS NOW obtained, Black said he “knew nothing” about Epstein’s crimes until the previously convicted sex offender was charged with sex trafficking in 2019.

Black denied any wrongdoing and said he was deceived by Epstein.

“With hindsight, I now see that Epstein exaggerated, embellished, manipulated and outright lied — prolifically and without concern for me or my family,” he said, according to his statement.

Although the interview ended before committee Democrats had a chance to question Black, ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said he backed Comer’s decision to subpoena the financier.

“There’s no question that as soon as this interview started that the witness was not going to answer critical questions,” Garcia told reporters. “Mr. Black was unwilling to have [that] important conversation, and so the subpoena for the documents and the subpoena for him to appear were absolutely the right moves.”

The turn of events was unlike any other voluntary interview that the committee has conducted as part of its investigation into Epstein. The Oversight panel has interviewed more than a dozen people about Epstein, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and several of Epstein’s former assistants.

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