Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to talk a
Speaker 1: little bit more about Leon Black and the contempt threat
Speaker 1: that's been leveled by James Comer. And I can't express
Speaker 1: how important it is to make sure that Leon Black
Speaker 1: gets put on the record. This is a man that
Speaker 1: knows a lot more than he has ever let on
Speaker 1: and the fact that he's been playing games for all
Speaker 1: these years is just a gigantic tell imagine saying that
Speaker 1: you don't have any idea what Epstein was up to,
Speaker 1: that you have no idea that he was involved in
Speaker 1: human trafficking, and then to have these emails come out,
Speaker 1: to have this information come out and have it absolutely
Speaker 1: blow your narrative out of the water. And instead of,
Speaker 1: you know, having some humility and admitting you're a liar,
Speaker 1: you just double down on the process. And that's exactly
Speaker 1: what Leon Black has done time and time again. And
Speaker 1: this is one of those rare times when Congress actually
Speaker 1: has a chance to do something good. Now, does that
Speaker 1: mean I think they're going to I don't, especially considering
Speaker 1: how powerful Leon Black is. It's going to be very
Speaker 1: difficult for them to really do the right thing when
Speaker 1: it comes to Leon Black, but they should, and I
Speaker 1: think there's plenty here. I think there is plenty of
Speaker 1: information when it comes to Leon Black in his relationship
Speaker 1: with Epstein to initiate an investigation to see just how
Speaker 1: deep those ties went and if there was any kind
Speaker 1: of financial malfeasons. Does anyone really think that these guys
Speaker 1: were involved in all these cash transactions, all of this
Speaker 1: purchasing of fine art and the rest of it, and
Speaker 1: they were all on point when it comes to their
Speaker 1: taxes when it comes to declaring what's what? Does anyone
Speaker 1: really believe that? Look, in the best of times, these
Speaker 1: people aren't being honest, never mind in the worst of times.
Speaker 1: So when I talk about going after Leon Black, I'm
Speaker 1: talking about financially and then if anything else is there,
Speaker 1: it'll fall into place. But first things first, we should
Speaker 1: be doing a gigantic dive into this man's finances. I'm
Speaker 1: talking forensic accountants and the whole damn thing. So today
Speaker 1: we have an article from The Guardian and the headline
Speaker 1: Epstein client Leon Black threatened with contempt by House panel
Speaker 1: chair And look, I just have no faith in James
Speaker 1: Comer and I just don't think he has the courage
Speaker 1: to do what he needs to do, and a lot
Speaker 1: of that has to do with this fear of Donald Trump.
Speaker 1: We see how Donald Trump is dealt with people who
Speaker 1: have stepped out of line when it comes to Epstein,
Speaker 1: and James Comer doesn't want to be the next casualty.
Speaker 1: This article was authored by Stephanie Kirch Gasner. The Republican
Speaker 1: chairman of the House Oversight Committee has threatened the whole
Speaker 1: private equity investor Leon Black in contempt if he does
Speaker 1: not fully cooperate with the panels ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein,
Speaker 1: amid accusations that the billionaire is purposely delaying and disrupting
Speaker 1: the Panels in or. A letter released by Representative James
Speaker 1: Comer's office on Tuesday, which was addressed to Black's lawyer,
Speaker 1: revealed new details about the high stage clash between the
Speaker 1: powerful Kentucky congressman and Black, the co founder of Apollo
Speaker 1: Asset Management, who was Epstein's friend and former client and
Speaker 1: paid Epstein tens of millions of dollars in fees. If
Speaker 1: mister Black refuses to provide the committee with responsive documents
Speaker 1: or refuses to appear for his scheduled deposition on September third,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty six. The Committee will use all tools at
Speaker 1: its disposal, including contempt, Comer said, and look, I just
Speaker 1: don't have any faith in it. I know I keep
Speaker 1: saying that, but it's worth saying again. And I wish
Speaker 1: there was some way that we could hold their feet
Speaker 1: to the fire, but we can't. Right, It's not like
Speaker 1: you're going to convince these Republicans on the committee to
Speaker 1: do anything they don't want to do. And remember, everything
Speaker 1: is shaded with the specter of Donald Trump hanging over them.
Speaker 1: They know that Donald Trump doesn't want more transparency. They
Speaker 1: know that Donald Trump doesn't want more answers, so of
Speaker 1: course they don't want any more answers either. Then, Susan Estrich,
Speaker 1: Black's lawyer rejected Comer's assertions in a statement released on
Speaker 1: Tuesday night, saying the letter was misrepresenting the facts and
Speaker 1: that Black was being targeted in a political witch hunt.
Speaker 1: Black voluntarily agreed to be questioned by the House Panel
Speaker 1: in June as part of the committee's broad investigation into Epstein,
Speaker 1: which the panel has said includes an examination of the
Speaker 1: alleged mismanagement of the federal government's investigation into the Late
Speaker 1: Sexual Predator, Well, we haven't seen any of that. We
Speaker 1: don't even know the names of the agents that were involved.
Speaker 1: We have no idea. So how can you have accountability
Speaker 1: if you have no idea who was involved? And I
Speaker 1: think that's one of the biggest issues when it comes
Speaker 1: to the redactions that we've seen in the Epstein files.
Speaker 1: How the fuck are we going to hold anybody accountable
Speaker 1: if we don't know who was involved? And keep in mind,
Speaker 1: that's the plan, right If you can't have any names,
Speaker 1: you can't hold anyone responsible, and you can just blame
Speaker 1: the system. But there's people that work within the system
Speaker 1: that make the system move, and those are the people
Speaker 1: that need to be held accountable. And what we're seeing
Speaker 1: here with Leon Black is one of the main reasons
Speaker 1: why I don't want them doing this on a voluntary basis.
Speaker 1: This needs to be done under subpoena and there needs
Speaker 1: to be severe penalties for people that lie to Congress.
Speaker 1: But there never is. The operation of sex trafficking rings
Speaker 1: and the ways in which Epstein and his companion Glenne
Speaker 1: Maxwell sought to curry favor to protect there are legal activities, well,
Speaker 1: it wasn't difficult, right. They found a bunch of fellow travelers,
Speaker 1: people who wanted a little something, and those people were
Speaker 1: all too willing to go along with the nonsense. And
Speaker 1: if it wasn't for you demanding transparency and justice, these
Speaker 1: sons of bitches would have lied about it until the
Speaker 1: end of time. But Black's appearance ended abruptly after just
Speaker 1: one hour of questioning, after members of both parties said
Speaker 1: Black was refusing to answer questions about non disclosure agreements NDAs.
Speaker 1: Comer in his capacity as committee chair, issued two subpoenas
Speaker 1: on that day in response to Black's alleged lack of cooperation,
Speaker 1: one demanding that Black produce all non disclosure agreements to
Speaker 1: which he is party and another demanding he appeared before
Speaker 1: the committee for a deposition. And that's where the fight is.
Speaker 1: Leon Black doesn't want to turn over these NDAs, He
Speaker 1: doesn't want to out himself, and he feels like he
Speaker 1: can fight that, but I don't think he can, especially
Speaker 1: if Epstein had anything to do with any of them.
Speaker 1: The fight between the Congressional Overside Panel and Black is
Speaker 1: now centered on the scope of the Oversight Committee's investigation.
Speaker 1: Black has so far handed over one NDA to the
Speaker 1: Committee for review, and according to this week letter, As
Speaker 1: indicated he's willing to provide one additional NDA. But wait,
Speaker 1: I thought that was impossible. I thought there were no
Speaker 1: more that were relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Could it be
Speaker 1: that Leon Black is telling lies? I would never, ever,
Speaker 1: ever suspect that is in Leon Black, the most truthful
Speaker 1: man and the history of truthful men. But in return,
Speaker 1: according to Comer, Black's attorneys are seeking or promise that
Speaker 1: Black will not be held in contempt. They are also
Speaker 1: seeking to change the planned deposition subpoena to a voluntary
Speaker 1: transcribed interview. No enough with the voluntary bullshit Black's attorneys,
Speaker 1: Comer said, we're also seeking to limit the scope of
Speaker 1: questions about confidentiality agreements to the two NDAs he's willing
Speaker 1: to provide. Black's team was also seeking to delay the
Speaker 1: interview from September to early October. At no point, as
Speaker 1: mister Black sought a reasonable accommodation from the Committee, but
Speaker 1: rather he has consistently sought to dictate to the Committee
Speaker 1: the scope of its investigation. Comer wrote, so what are
Speaker 1: you waiting for? Hit his ass with a subpoena and
Speaker 1: let's get moving. Enough is enough. The problem is these
Speaker 1: guys all know they can get away with whatever they want,
Speaker 1: and why do they feel so brazen because they've gotten
Speaker 1: away with it for so long. One of the major
Speaker 1: points of contention appears centered on the timing of NDAs
Speaker 1: that Black may have entered. According to Comer's letter, Black
Speaker 1: defended his decision to provide a single NDA because to
Speaker 1: the extent any more such confidentiality agreements exist, they would
Speaker 1: have been negotiated well after Epstein's death in twenty nineteen. Well,
Speaker 1: that shouldn't matter. As long as it could involve Epstein,
Speaker 1: it shouldn't matter at all. In response, Comer said that
Speaker 1: Black did not have the right to decide what documents
Speaker 1: are responsive to a subpoena, and that any agreement signed
Speaker 1: after Epstein's death could still involve Epstein's victims. Well, that's
Speaker 1: a one hundred percent fact, and it's true. And as
Speaker 1: much as I hate to agree with mister Comer, he's
Speaker 1: definitely right here. Astrich Black's lawyers said mister Black provided
Speaker 1: the committee with the only confidentiality agreement that predated Epstein's death,
Speaker 1: and the only one of which Epstein was aware. She
Speaker 1: added that Congress has no right to invade private lives
Speaker 1: as part of a fishing expedition, especially where the parties
Speaker 1: to a confidentiality agreement do not want their identities revealed
Speaker 1: in a circus like atmosphere, and especially when Epstein had
Speaker 1: nothing to do with any agreement. Boy, she has some nerve,
Speaker 1: some nerve the private lives a fishing expedition. Really, here's
Speaker 1: an idea, Why does near client tell the truth? That
Speaker 1: might be a good place to start. According to a
Speaker 1: report commission by Apollos several years ago, Epstein provided financial
Speaker 1: services to Black between twenty twelve and twenty seventeen. After
Speaker 1: Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state prostitution charges in two
Speaker 1: thousand and eight, including procuring a minor, Black became Epstein's
Speaker 1: largest client, paying him a total of roughly one hundred
Speaker 1: six tventy million in fees, according to an investigation by
Speaker 1: the Senate Finance Committee's ranking member Ron Wyden. And there's
Speaker 1: no doubt that without Leon Black, none of this really
Speaker 1: ever happens. Leon Black was a driving force financially speaking.
Speaker 1: Black has described as work for Epstein as tax and
Speaker 1: estate planning services. In his statement, before the Oversight Committee
Speaker 1: in June, Black wrote, I did not know about this
Speaker 1: nefarious activity until Epstein was charged with trafficking in July
Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen. But Black acknowledged that he did know
Speaker 1: about Epstein pleading guilty in two thousand and eight to
Speaker 1: stay charges relating to prostitution involving a minor. And look,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, he knew about all of it. He
Speaker 1: knew what Epstein was, He knew exactly the kind of animal,
Speaker 1: the kind of monster that Jeffrey Epstein was. He just
Speaker 1: didn't care. And the truth is, he still doesn't care.
Speaker 1: The only reason that he's answering any questions now is
Speaker 1: because he asked to. So the whole entire voluntary thing
Speaker 1: that should be something that isn't even offered. And that's
Speaker 1: because Leon Black had the chance to tell the truth
Speaker 1: on his own terms and he chose not to. Now
Speaker 1: he should be forced to tell the truth on whatever
Speaker 1: terms that are set by Congress. That's what should happen.
Speaker 1: Will it happen, Well, that's the question. All the information
Speaker 1: that goes with this episode can be found in the
Speaker 1: description box.