A congressional panel says Leon Black, the billionaire former head of Apollo Global Management, refused to hand over documents central to their investigation of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The House oversight committee, the body Congress uses to investigate potential misconduct by both public officials and private figures, says Black failed to produce non-disclosure agreements the panel had requested. Lawmakers say that refusal amounts to acting in bad faith, a phrase carrying specific weight in congressional proceedings.
What the committee says Black withheld
Non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, are private legal contracts that bind signatories to silence on specific matters. Corporations and wealthy individuals use them to settle disputes, often preventing the other party from ever discussing what they agreed to. The oversight committee says Black holds NDAs it considers relevant to understanding his relationship with Epstein, and that he did not produce them when asked.
The phrase "bad faith" here is deliberate. In legislative proceedings, it signals that a committee believes a subject is not engaging honestly with a formal process. That is a different accusation from slow compliance or a paperwork dispute. It creates grounds for escalation, including potential contempt referrals.
What the committee did not say
The specific contents of the agreements being sought have not been described in available reporting. The committee has not said how many NDAs it requested or what time period they cover. What it has said is that Black, as former chief of Apollo Global Management, had an opportunity to cooperate with a federal oversight inquiry and chose not to.