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Apollo's Leon Black Denies Criminal Ties, $158 M Probe.

6/27/2026

35 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Leon Black, Apollo CEO, testified on June 26, 2026, said Epstein deceived him, denied criminal involvement, and left when asked about NDAs.
Rep. James Comer called the deposition and said investigators have questions about Black’s payments.
Wyden cited a probe that Epstein may have been a middleman for Black’s payments.
Black’s attorney Susan Estrich called the subpoena a stunt and said committee has not yet asked about $158 million disclosure.

History

Historical Context

Enron’s collapse in 2001, when it filed Chapter 11 on Dec 2 with $63.4 billion in assets, revealed massive accounting fraud by CEO Kenneth Lay and COO Jeffrey Skilling and spurred the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley reforms. Today, the House Oversight Committee’s hearings in Washington of private-equity executives mirror Enron’s legacy of demanding transparency and accountability.

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Story summary

Leon Black, Apollo CEO, testified on June 26, 2026, said Epstein deceived him, denied criminal involvement, and left when asked about NDAs.
Rep. James Comer called the deposition and said investigators have questions about Black’s payments.
Wyden cited a probe that Epstein may have been a middleman for Black’s payments.
Black’s attorney Susan Estrich called the subpoena a stunt and said committee has not yet asked about $158 million disclosure.

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