Billionaire investor Leon Black has had enough of the Democrat smear machine.
On Wednesday, the Apollo Global Management co-founder filed a federal defamation lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against California Rep.
Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, seeking $7.25 million in compensatory and punitive damages, AP reported.
Black's legal team alleges Garcia "knowingly and willfully lied" on television by placing the billionaire at the "center" of Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, after Black had already told the committee under voluntary interview that he had no knowledge of and took no part in those crimes.
The complaint centers on Garcia's on-air claims that "Leon Black is at the center of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes," that Black was "one of the last people to actually interact" with Epstein before the convicted sex offender's 2019 death in a Manhattan jail, and that Garcia had "talked to survivors that have credibly named Leon Black as someone that was involved in direct abuse of women and was directly involved" with Epstein.
Black's lawyers call the statements false, malicious, and calculated to inflict maximum political and personal damage.
According to the filing, Garcia's remarks have produced real harm: threats to Black's physical safety, a flood of hostile calls, emails, and social media attacks, damaged business and philanthropic relationships, lost investment opportunities, and roughly $775,000 in private security costs.
The suit further argues Garcia made the comments to "benefit personally by aligning himself with the large portion of the electorate that is, rightfully, enraged and politically energized by Epstein's crimes."
Black sat for a voluntary transcribed interview with the Oversight Committee in June. He denied any knowledge of Epstein's trafficking network, stated he "never abused a woman," "never was with an underage woman," "never engaged in sex trafficking," and "never paid Epstein for access to women."
He walked out after lawmakers pressed him on nondisclosure agreements. The committee then issued subpoenas; Black challenged them in court as invalid. In mid-September the full House approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution holding him in contempt of Congress and referring the matter to the Justice Department.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported on that contempt vote and the bipartisan push against Black for refusing further testimony and document production tied to the Epstein probe.
Black's attorneys have long maintained the payments to Epstein, approximately $158 million between 2012 and 2017, according to an independent Apollo-commissioned review, were for legitimate tax and estate-planning services, not criminal activity. Black has said he cut ties with Epstein in 2018.
A spokesperson for Black reiterated Wednesday: he "has never abused a woman; he has never been with an underage woman; he has never been involved with sex trafficking; and, he never paid Epstein for women."
Garcia's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new lawsuit. In September, reacting to Black's earlier suit against the committee, Garcia had claimed Black "funded Epstein's abuse and trafficking of women" and asserted that "multiple women have also accused Black of sexual assault."
The timing is no coincidence. With Democrats expected to take the House gavel in January, Garcia is positioned to chair the Oversight Committee and expand the Epstein investigation.
Black's complaint frames the congressman's television statements as knowing falsehoods designed to score political points rather than pursue facts.
Previous civil claims against Black linked to Epstein-related allegations have faced significant setbacks in court, including sanctions against a law firm that advanced some of them.
The case is Black v. Garcia in the Southern District of New York. It seeks a jury trial. Whether Garcia's statements survive scrutiny as protected political speech or amount to actionable defamation will now be tested in federal court, while the Democrat-led push for more Epstein document and testimony fights continues.
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