Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Wyden Presses Oversight Committee to Dig Deeper Into Black’s Epstein Ties (7/3/26)

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Wyden Presses Oversight Committee to Dig Deeper Into Black’s Epstein Ties (7/3/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
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Epstein Chronicles. When it comes to Jeffrey Epstein's former associates,
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nobody's having a worse week than Leon Black. Not only
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did this clown storm out of the congressional hearing, Senator
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Widen is now pressing for more answers as the scrutiny
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continues to heat up. And I'll tell you what, For
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the first time, one of Jeffrey Epstein's closest associates is
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in real jeopardy. Now when I say that, I don't
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mean going to prison, right, I won't believe anyone's going
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to prison until they start putting people there. But what
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I'm talking about is reputationally and financially. I mean, how
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many lawsuits is he going to get hit with? If
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and when it's proven that he was a lot closer
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and a key element of Jeffrey's operation, What then, how
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many people are going to sue him? I'm guessing a
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lot and they should. As far as legal jeopardy, if
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I was Leon Black, what I'd be scared of is taxes.
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What are they gonna come for financially, because that's how
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you get people like Leon Black Unfortunately, you're never gonna
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get them on the allegations that have been made by
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guzelle Ganieva or by the unfortunate young lady who has
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mosaic down syndrome. People like Leon Black, they find a
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way to get away from that shit. But when it
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comes to money, when it comes to tax evasion, when
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it comes to hiding that shit, that's how you get
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people like this. And I know a lot of you
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are saying, well, there's no justice there. You're getting them
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for a different crime. And my counter to that is, yes,
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that's true. The most grievous sins are not being punished,
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but at least there are some punishment. And that's why
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I always bring up the example of al Capone. Of course,
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the government wanted to get them for murder, right, elliot ness,
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the untouchable is the whole thing, But they couldn't make
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that stick. So what did they do. They changed up
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the strategy and they ended up getting them on tax evasion.
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And that's how you go after powerful people. You follow
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the money. And if you follow the money on the street,
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eventually that shit's gonna land with the person who's the plug.
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And the SAME's true here. If you follow all the
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money from all of Epstein's associates, it all ends up
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going to the same place, right to Jeffrey Epstein. So
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the question is why, and unfortunately none of these people
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seem to have an answer. Today's article is from the
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Grant Pass Tribune and the headline Widen presses for answers
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as congressional scrutiny of Leon Black deepens. This article was
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altered by Ellen Ward. A congressional investigation examining the financial
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relationship between billionaire investor Leon Black and convicted sex offender
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Jeffrey Epstein entered a new phase this week as lawmakers
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moved to compel additional testimony and records following Black's appearance
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before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. And
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I think the problems for Leon Black are just beginning.
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I think that if anybody is exposed here, I think
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it's him. Now, let's not get too carried away and
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act like he's going to end up in prison. I'm
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not going to go that far, but I think that
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he is really being looked at right now. And if
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anybody is going to be in jeopardy, I think it's
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going to be Leon Black. And I think that all
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the facts align and the evidence points to him knowing
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a lot more than he ever let on. And when
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it comes to the money, well, I've told you from
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the beginning. I think that there was a ton of
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tax evasion and money laundering. Whether Leon Black was directly
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involved in that or not, I don't know, but I
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can tell you with conviction that that's what Jeffrey Epstein
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was up to, and if you were using his services,
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it only makes sense that that's what you were looking for.
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The latest hearing has renewed attention on a year's long
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investigation led by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, whose work on
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the Senate Finance Committee has steadily expanded beyond questions of
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tax strategy to include the flow of millions of dollars
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between Black, Epstein and other individuals connected to the financier's network.
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And it would be nice if Congress and the Senate
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would get on board and get all these bank records
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subpoened and into the public record, because if you follow
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this money, I guarantee you you're going to get to
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some of the answers that we're looking for. And that's
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why they haven't done it. Black appeared voluntarily before the
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House Committee in a closed door interview intended to clarify
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the nature of his business dealings with Epstein. During the session,
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Black maintained that Epstein's role centered on advising them on
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complex financial matters involving taxes, trusts, and estate planning, rather
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than serving as a licensed tax attorney or accountant. So
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you have all the money in the world, you're in
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charge of Apollo Global, worth billions, and you reach out
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to Jeffrey Epstein, who's not an attorney, not a tax guy,
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not an accountant. I mean, it's not like you or
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I reaching out to our buddy who knows how to
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do taxes. Right. Different story, whole different story here. So
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if you want to believe that Jeffrey Epstein was receiving
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this money for tax advice, cool, Like I always tell you,
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I'm not here to convince anybody of anything. Here's the evidence.
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Do with it as you will. Members of the Bipartisan committee, however,
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concluded that significant questions remain unanswered after Black declined to
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discuss several matters involving confidentiality agreements and financial arrangements linked
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to Epstein. He doesn't want anybody to know the truth,
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and they can involuntarily because they wanted to dog walk
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the whole entire operation. They wanted to control the narrative. Oh,
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we're here voluntarily of our own free will. Well yeah,
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but if you didn't come voluntarily, you'd be here under subpoena.
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So tell the truth or come back under a subpoena
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and face all the jeopardy that comes with that. And
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now that's the position that Leon Black's in, and guess
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what well deserved. The Committee responded by issuing subpoenas requiring
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Black to produce additional documents and return for sporn testimony
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later this summer, signaling that lawmaker's believe the investigation has
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reached a point where further compulsory testimony is necessary. It
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reached that point about thirty years ago. I'm glad that
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Congress is catching up now, but let's be real. This
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is an issue that was allowed to metastasize. This cancer
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could have been cut out a long time ago, but
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it wasn't, and now it's spread for Oregon. The hearing
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represents another chapter in an investigation that Center Widen has
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pursued for more than four years. As ranking member of
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the Senate Finance Committee. Widen has examined banking records, financial transactions,
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and tax documents in an effort to understand why Black
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transferred and estimated one hundred and seventy million to Epstein
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between twenty twelve and twenty seventeen. According to Widen's investigation,
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both payments dramatically exceeded the compensation Black paid to internationally
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recognize tax and a state planning professionals already working on
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his financial affairs. They weren't willing to go into the
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areas that Epstein was. Come on, this is not rocket science.
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He had the professionals, the you know, people with a
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good reputation on the outside taking care of the quote
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unquote taxes, but on the inside, well, where all the
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money laundering was happening, where all the fraud was happening,
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where the hiding of funds was happening, that was exclusively
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controlled by Jeffrey Epstein, and that's what he was getting
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paid for. Widen has repeatedly argued that the size and
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structure of those payments deserve greater scrutiny. In early June,
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the Oregon Senator formerly transmitted the findings of his Senate
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investigation to the House Oversight Committee before Black's appearance, encouraging
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investigators to pursue additional lines of questioning regarding financial records,
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settlement payments, and the movement of funds connected to Epstein's network,
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all very relative and all very important. And I really
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think that if anyone's exposed here, it's Leon Black. Among
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the issues identified by Widener allegations at Epstein may have
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acted as an intermediary in payments made to several women
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and maintained records involving settlement agreements. Widen has also questioned
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the circumstances surrounding black x multimillion dollar settlement with the
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government of the US Virgin Islands, which resolved civil claims
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without an admission of wrongdoing. Those issues now appear to
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be central to the House committees expanding investigation. And I
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told you at the time it was a hustle and
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that the USVII should be ashamed of itself. It was
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always about the money for the USVII, never about the survivors,
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never about real justice. They were eating at both ends
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of the table. When Epstein was alive, they were enjoying
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as large as when Epstein died, they went after his
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estate and not only that, but they ended up getting
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more money than all of the survivors combined. How is
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that acceptable? And how is it that i'mlike the only
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person who called it out. Black is consistently denied participating
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or having knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activities. He has
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maintained that substantial payments reflected sophisticated financial and estate planning
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services that ultimately produced significant tax savings, and stated that
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he was deceived about the full extent of Epstein's criminal conduct.
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Everybody was deceived. Nobody had a Internet browser that worked.
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I guess nobody did any due diligence. Does anyone believe that?
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His legal representatives have criticized recent congressional subpoenas, arguing that
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the requests are unnecessary because Black has already cooperated extensively
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with investigators, So what's the big deal? Then? If he's
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already cooperated intensively, then what's the big deal? Congressional investigators
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appear unconvinced that the matter has been fully explained. Members
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of both political parties have indicated they want a clearer
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understanding of the financial relationship between the two men, particularly
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the purpose of unusually large payments, the existence of confidentiality agreements,
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and whether Epstein played any role beyond providing financial vice. No,
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I'm sure that's it. It started and stopped there, right.
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The renewed congressional interest comes as federal investigators continue reviewing
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millions of pages of records associated with Ebstein and his
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extensive network of business associates, financial clients, and personal contacts.
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House investigators have indicated that Black's testimony represents only one
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portion of a broader effort to understand how Epstein maintained
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influence among wealthy and powerful individuals over many years. Well compromise,
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getting people into compromising situations, and just learning about people.
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That was Epstein's gift, Make no mistake. He had a
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menagerie of people that he collected, very powerful people for Widen.
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The developments represent a continuation of an investigation that is
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increasingly focused on financial transparency rather than criminal allegations alone
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and go. If you want to win and you want
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to hold people accountable, that's how you do it. I know,
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not sillacious, not the kind of shit that draws engagement,
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and certainly not the kind of thing that makes you rich.
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But if you want justice, that's how you get there.
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The Oregon senator has argued that Congress has a responsibility
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to determine whether existing tax law, banking regulations, and financial
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reporting requirements were sufficient to detect or prevent transactions that
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may warrant additional oversight. Black is scheduled to return before
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the House Oversight Committee under subpoena next month, where lawmakers
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are expected to continue pressing for answers regarding the financial
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relationship that has remained under Congressional examination for years. Whether
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that testimony resolves lingering questions or broadens the investigation further,
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remains one of the most closely watched political and financial
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inquiries currently unfolding in Washington. That's true when you have
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somebody as powerful as Leon Black on the doc, everybody's
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paying attention, and hopefully with this renewed attention, we get
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some of the answers that we've been looking for. And
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if we want to get to the bottom of what
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Leon Black was up to with Jeffrey Epstein, then I
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think Senator Wyden is on the right track because if
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you want to get Leon Black, the way to do
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it is through his bank account. All the information that
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goes with this episode can be found in the description
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