Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Oversight Committee, said Leon Black's testimony could be the most groundbreaking deposition in a current investigation.
The testimony is critical because it examines the financial ties between the former Apollo CEO and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The committee is specifically probing whether non-disclosure agreements were used to hide illegal activity.
Black testified on June 26, 2026 [1], at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The investigation focuses on payments totaling $158 million [2] that Black made to Epstein. During the proceedings, Black defended the payments but refused to answer specific questions regarding NDAs [3].
Comer said that among all the witnesses who have appeared so far, this deposition has the potential to be the most groundbreaking [4]. Other reports noted that Comer viewed the testimony as the most groundbreaking the committee has seen in this investigation [5].
Black described his relationship with Epstein using a literary metaphor to suggest he was unaware of the latter's criminal nature. "I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde," Black said [6].
Despite the characterization of the session as significant by the committee chair, the proceedings were marked by tension over what information Black would disclose. While some reports indicate Black answered certain questions while defending the payments, others highlight his refusal to discuss the legal agreements that may have silenced other witnesses [3, 7].
“"Of all the witnesses that have come thus far, this one has the potential to be the most groundbreaking deposition."”
The House Oversight Committee's focus on non-disclosure agreements suggests a broader effort to determine if wealthy benefactors used legal contracts to obstruct justice or conceal the scale of Epstein's operations. By labeling the testimony as 'groundbreaking,' Comer is signaling that the committee believes it has found a critical link in the financial trail, though Black's refusal to discuss NDAs may limit the immediate legal utility of the deposition.
