Key facts
- Black filed the defamation lawsuit against Garcia in federal court in New York on Wednesday, seeking $7.5 million in damages.
- The House voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with oversight committee subpoenas.
- The Department of Justice has not filed contempt charges against Black as of November 5.
- Black did not appear for his scheduled September 3 deposition and did not produce all the NDAs sought by the committee.
- Garcia's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Billionaire Leon Black filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court in New York on Wednesday against California congressman Robert Garcia, accusing the lawmaker of making false statements about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and Epstein's sex trafficking crimes. Black is seeking $7.5 million in damages, according to the report.
The filing comes almost two months after the House voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with subpoenas issued by the House oversight committee as part of its investigation into Epstein. As of November 5, the Department of Justice has not filed contempt charges against Black. Garcia's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In late June, Black, whose name came up repeatedly in the Epstein files, appeared before the oversight committee for a voluntary interview. The hearing ended abruptly after lawmakers from both parties said Black refused to answer questions about non-disclosure agreements. Black has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
The committee, chaired by Republican James Comer, issued two subpoenas: one demanding that Black produce all NDAs to which he is a party and another requiring him to appear before the committee again for a deposition. Black did not appear for his scheduled September 3 deposition and did not produce all the NDAs sought. Black instead sued Comer and the committee, arguing the subpoenas were invalid and exceeded the committee's authority.
In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Black claims that shortly after his June appearance, Garcia went on national television and said that Leon Black is at the center of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. The lawsuit alleges Garcia went on television again several weeks later and said Black was one of the last people to interact with Epstein before he was found dead in jail in 2019, and that Garcia said he talked to survivors who named Black as involved in direct abuse of women and Epstein's trafficking network. Black claims those statements are false and that Garcia knew it, and alleges the statements caused real and significant ongoing harm.
The speech or debate clause of the constitution protects members of Congress from defamation suits, but only for comments made as part of legislative activities. It generally does not shield them from lawsuits over comments made in the media.
In September, in response to Black's lawsuit against the committee, Garcia said Black funded Epstein's abuse and trafficking of women and that multiple women have accused Black of sexual assault. A spokesperson for Black said the billionaire has never abused a woman, has never been with an underage woman, has never been involved with sex trafficking, and never paid Epstein for women.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Garcia, who is poised to become the next chair of the House oversight committee as a result of the midterm elections, said the committee will be focused on four issues, including Epstein, come January.