Latest / Beyond The Horizon / Congress Uses Unanimous Consent to Hold Leon Black in Contempt (9/18/26)

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Congress Uses Unanimous Consent to Hold Leon Black in Contempt (9/18/26) · Beyond The Horizon

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. The situation with Leon Black and Congress continues
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to develop. And now, not only did the House panel
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: vote 41 to nothing to hold Leon Black in contempt,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: and every single member of the House was on board.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: So now, they're going to the mattresses. And you know
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: that Leon Black is ready to go to war. This
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: is not a man. who is just going to accept
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: his fate. And I think that what happens here is
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: going to be a very good indication of how these
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: other rich and powerful people are going to be dealt with,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: or how they could be dealt with. But Leon Black
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: is not just going to accept whatever Congress decides to
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: throw at him. And the legal team that he has
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: around him, including Susan Estrich, is a serious legal team.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: So today we have an article from Business Insider talking
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: a little bit more about what's going on. Headline, Congress
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: is going to war with Jeffrey Epstein patron Leon Black
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: over NDAs. This article was authored by Jacob Shamzian. Congress
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: just opened a new front in its battle with billionaire
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Leon Black. The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: hold Black the Jeffrey Epstein associate and former CEO of
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Apollo Global Management in criminal contempt of Congress. Black had
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: refused to comply with the subpoena requiring him to hand
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: over all of his NDAs and any in his possession
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: that reference Epstein or Glenn Maxwell. Now, he might have
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: an argument about the ones that don't reference Jeffrey Epstein
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: or ones that Epstein or Maxwell had nothing to do with.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: He might be able to keep those out of the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: hands of Congress. But anything with even a cent of
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Epstein on it, I don't see the court ruling in
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: his favor. And remember, Congress has extraordinary ability to investigate
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: whatever they want. And when we're talking about a situation
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: like this, that is, you know, front page news, or
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: close to, you better believe that Congress is going to
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: try and do whatever they can possibly do to make
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: the optics look good for them. And every single one
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: of them knows it's a no-brainer to go after a
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: guy like Leon Black. And I think that's because the
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: evidence reflects that a lot longer relationship, a lot stronger relationship,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: and certainly a whole lot of lies from Leon Black.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: The same day, the chair of the Congressional Committee, trying
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: to pry nondisclosure agreements from Black for its Epstein investigation,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: proposed a bill that would allow victims of sexual abuse
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: to break NDAs. Well, that sounds like a good idea.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: And props to James Comer for trying to put it through.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Because I think that the NDAs, they cause a lot
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: of problems. Now, there is a place for them, right?
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: If two people want to enter into an NDA and
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: they don't want to give up information about something and
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: it has to do with consenting adults, hey, great, do
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: whatever you want. But when we're talking about a criminal matter,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: we're talking about people who say they were assaulted. Yeah,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: there should be some kind of trap door there. There
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: should be some kind of legal exit. And I think
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: a bill like this would provide that. But like everything else, right,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: the devil's in the details and we have to see
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: the whole entire thing. James Comer, the chair of the
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: House Oversight Committee, said the proposed bill would ensure that
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: sexual abuse survivors and other people with information about such
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: abuse could speak freely about it. During our investigation, we've
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: learned how powerful men weaponized nondisclosure agreements to silence survivors
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: of sexual abuse, Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in a
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: statement Wednesday. You guys just figured that out? That's been
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: the tried and true method for rich people for how long?
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: That's what they've been doing. Just pay people off. And unfortunately,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: that's how the whole system's set up. If you have
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: enough money, you can buy your way out of anything.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Whether it's sexual abuse, murder, you name it. Business Insider
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: reported earlier this year that some Epstein accusers have signed
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: confidential settlements with friends of Epstein, who they have also
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: accused of misconduct, according to three people with direct knowledge
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: of such settlements. The settlements include NDAs, the people said.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: One person, Paul Business Insider, they had direct knowledge of
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: settlements with four of Epstein's friends who were accused of
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: sexual misconduct by more than 20 women between them. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: but Epstein had nothing to do with other people being
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: hooked up with women, right? Is that going to go
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: down as the biggest bunch of bullshit maybe in history?
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: I think it might. I really think it might. Because
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: anybody that thinks that Jeffrey Epstein was just, you know,
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: some lone dude sitting around, tugging his nerd, watching disgusting videos.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: They have not been paying attention. The House Oversight Committee
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: in June issued two subpoenas to Black when he refused
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: to answer questions about NDAs in a closed-door interview about
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: his interactions with Epstein. Black, who gave over $ 150 million
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: to Epstein for what he said were financial services, walked
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: out of the voluntary interview, and that's why it shouldn't
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: have been voluntary. None of these interviews should have been voluntary.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: Every single one of them should have been in pure
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: deposition form. And the committee, they should have never made
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: any trips to anybody's private residence, Les Wexner, the Clintons, anybody.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: All these people should have had to come to Congress,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: and they all should have had to sit for a
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: public deposition, where the whole entire country could see what's
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: going on. And when it comes to that portion of it,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: I agree with Hillary Clinton. I think that this should
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: have been something that everybody was able to see. And
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: the fact that they still don't have the transcripts out,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: meaning the congressional committee, is just another black eye. Because
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: let's be real, who has the time to sit through
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: a five-hour video? Not very many people. This month, blacks
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: sued the committee rather than comply with the subpoenas. One
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: subpoena demanded NDAs. The other required him to testify under
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: oath in a deposition. Black has said he wasn't aware
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: of Epstein's sexual abuse of women. His lawsuit says the
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: committee didn't have a valid legislative purpose for such a
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: sweeping and intrusive subpoena served upon a private citizen. Oh,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: they most certainly do. Especially when that private citizen is
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: buddies with Epstein. And again, this is another reason why
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: the Rico charges that never came are such a big deal.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Because if this was Rico and Epstein was charged with
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Rico like he should have been, when he was first arrested,
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: then all these people like Leon Black, they would have
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: been investigated then too. Because you would have had to
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: follow the money and follow it wherever it went. Whereas
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: you had a targeted prosecution of somebody like Ghislaine Maxwell,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: it wasn't sweeping, it wasn't large, and the whole idea
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: was to keep it focused on Ghislaine Maxwell. But this
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: was always bigger than just Ghislaine Maxwell or Jeffrey Epstein.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Or hell, their organization. And you see it here with
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Leon Black. There are so many people with so much
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: power that were close to the center of what was
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: going on that I find it hard to believe that
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: none of them ever saw anything and none of them
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: know anything. And when it comes to a guy like
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Leon Black, I have a lot of questions about what
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: he was up to. Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: trial for federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was sentenced to
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: 20 years in prison. after a Manhattan jury found her
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: guilty in 2021 of trafficking girls to Epstein for sex.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: If passed into law, Comer's proposed bill, called the Survivors
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Voice Protection Act, would void nondisclosure clauses if they prohibit
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: victims of sexual abuse from speaking about those experiences or
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: if they bar any other person from disclosing facts related
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: to such abuse. The law would also create a fiduciary
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: duty to inform law enforcement about suspected sexual grooming of minors.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: And for as much shit as I give James Comer,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: I can get down with a bill like this because
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: I don't think that there's any kind of NDA that
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: should ever protect anybody when it comes to a criminal case.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: And the vast majority of times, it has to do
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: with a power imbalance anyway. But providing an escape hatch
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: is a very good idea. Democrats on the House Oversight
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: Committee have not yet said whether they would support the
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: NDA law. Wednesday's House vote, by unanimous consent, to hold
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: Black in contempt, allows House Speaker Mike Johnson to send
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: a criminal referral to the Justice Department. And they need
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: to do that, like yesterday. Because if anybody needs to
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: be investigated, it's certainly Leon Black. I mean, look at
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: the way he's pushing back against the committee. Look at
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: the way he's conducting himself instead of just answering the
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: questions that are put before them. So when you protest
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: that much, you better believe that people are going to
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: have a lot of questions about what you're up to,
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: what you know, and what you were doing with Jeffrey Epstein.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: And hopefully when all of this is said and done,
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: we're closer to that answer. Black's lawyers criticized the vote
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: and said the committee's subpoenas unfairly targeted him. The committee
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: has continued to insist on looking for information that does
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: not exist. Attorney Susan Estridge and Aaron Cutler said in
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: a statement on Wednesday, they said the committee sought to
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: ask questions about every NDA Black had ever signed, including
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: with business partners and individuals whom he had never met.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: So look, again, I think anything that has to do
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: with Epstein is on the table. Anything else, they might
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: have a more difficult time prying that loose. So we'll
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: just have to see what the ruling ends up being.
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: People with nondisclosure agreements can be legally compelled to speak
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: about their experiences with a subpoena, but not in a
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: voluntary interview with Congress. Some of Epstein's other associates, including
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Bill Gates, said in voluntary interviews that they didn't sign
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: any nondisclosure agreements with Epstein or Maxwell victims. Meanwhile, you
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: have Leon Black over here signing these agreements and paying
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: out how much money? But sure, we shouldn't ask any
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: more questions about Leon Black, huh? Many states banned NDAs
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: related to sexual abuse during the MeToo movement following reporting
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: about Harvey Weinstein, but no such ban exists on a
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: federal level. And that, of course, is what this bill
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: is looking to change. So, we'll have to see what
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: ends up happening with Comer's bill. Because I think that
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: it's going to be a good idea to get that
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: shit into law. And as far as Leon Black goes,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: we already know that this dude loves a backyard brawl.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: And when it comes to this situation with Congress, that's
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: exactly what he's about to get. All the information that
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: goes with this episode can be found... in the description box.