A bipartisan vote by the US House Oversight Committee has held billionaire Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he repeatedly declined to appear before lawmakers investigating his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The move matters because Black, who features in the Epstein Files more than 300 times and paid the late financier over $180 million in total, is one of Epstein's most prominent former associates, and the contempt finding raises the prospect of a criminal referral even though he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Black gave a voluntary interview in spring but would not discuss non-disclosure agreements linked to Epstein, then missed a scheduled deposition on 16 July and a rescheduled appearance on 3 September, instead suing the committee over what he called an overreach of its authority. Committee chairman James Comer said lawmakers had "tried every way" to secure his testimony, while Democrat Robert Garcia called for Attorney General Todd Blanche to pursue a criminal conviction; any referral following a full House vote would go to the Washington DC US Attorney's office, led by Trump ally Jeanine Pirro. The case echoes earlier contempt proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton over their Epstein links, which ended when both eventually sat for depositions without facing charges.