WASHINGTON (AP) — Billionaire investor Leon Black is appearing before the House Oversight Committee on Friday as lawmakers seek to untangle the web of wealth and influence around Jeffrey Epstein that they say enabled decades of sexual abuse.
Black is the latest powerful figure to sit for a closed-door deposition before the committee. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates testified earlier this month and said he had made a “grave error in judgment” by meeting with Epstein.
Black is the co-founder and former chief executive of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. He stepped down in 2021 amid fallout over his ties to Epstein.
A 2021 review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million from 2012 to 2017, after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The review said the payments were for “bona fide tax, estate planning and other related services.”
Black is mentioned repeatedly in files that the Department of Justice has released related to the Epstein investigation. He also appears in a collection of birthday messages sent to Epstein that were released by the House committee last year, including a poem attributed to him that refers to “Blond, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically.”
Epstein was indicted in July 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. The Justice Department alleged that Epstein created a vast network of girls, some as young as 14, for him to sexually abuse between 2002 and 2005. He died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.
The House committee chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said earlier this year that Epstein’s former accountant, Richard Kahn, told lawmakers in his testimony that Epstein received significant sums of money from a number of high-profile individuals, including Black.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., this month referred findings from a nearly four-year investigation into Black to the House committee. In a statement, Wyden said, “Epstein even appears to have acted as a middleman for Black to pay women on Black’s behalf.”
“While I have offered Black ample opportunities to address outstanding irregularities regarding his arrangement with Epstein, he has refused,” Wyden said.
Other figures to have appeared for the investigation include former Democratic President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Gates.
Democrats on the House committee have pushed Republicans to seek testimony from President Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein. Republicans have refused, saying they have not come across any evidence that Trump did anything wrong during his well-documented friendship with Epstein.
Comer has said he has been in touch with the Justice Department about acting Attorney General Todd Blanche coming in for questioning soon.
Bondi, in her testimony, stressed that Blanche had overseen the chaotic release of the federal Epstein files, which included the unintentional release of victim information.
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunset, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams will face an opponent less than half her age when she plays 20-year-old Maya Joint in the first round at Wimbledon for her first singles match in nearly four years.
The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, who is 44, accepted a wild-card entry to the grass-court Grand Slam, where she’ll also compete in doubles with her older sister Venus, who turned 46 last week.
It's all part of a tennis comeback that started with two doubles warmup matches but kicked into high gear Sunday when the All England Club announced Serena would play singles. Brackets were set in Friday's draw.
Joint was born in Michigan — as was Williams — but represents Australia through her father. She is ranked No. 53 and made her Wimbledon debut last year, losing in the first round to Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2.
Joint won the grass-court Eastbourne Open last year for one of her two WTA tour-level singles titles.
Williams hasn't played a singles match since a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared she was “evolving” away from tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.
Williams' most-recent appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she lost in the opening round to then-115th-ranked Harmony Tan.
If Williams beats Joint on Tuesday, she may face rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala, who is seeded 29th, in the second round. She could meet defending champion Iga Swiatek in the third round.
Swiatek opens against Taylor Townsend of the U.S. on Centre Court on Tuesday.
In a projected quarterfinals by seedings, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka would meet French Open champion Mirra Andreeva; No. 2 Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, would face 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova; Swiatek, the No. 3 seed, would play Elina Svitolina; and No. 4 Jessica Pegula would meet Coco Gauff.
On the men's side, No. 1 Jannik Sinner will begin his Wimbledon title defense against Miomir Kecmanovic on Centre Court on Monday.
Sinner and Novak Djokovic, the No. 7 seed, are in the same half of the draw and could meet in the semifinals.
Sinner underwent checks following his French Open meltdown — losing in the second round amid a heat wave in Paris — and said he felt physically good after an exhibition match this week in London, which also experienced high temperatures.
Djokovic, a seven-time champion at the All England Club, will play Wu Yibing of China. Djokovic could meet third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.
Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, who lost to Sinner in the 2025 final, will miss this year’s tournament because of a wrist injury.
Wimbledon starts on Monday.
The Williams sisters are wild-card entries in the women's doubles and will play their first-round match against Colombia's Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra of Argentina.
Serena and Venus have won 14 Grand Slam titles together in doubles, including six at Wimbledon — the first in 2000 and the last in 2016. Their first two doubles titles at the All England Club, in 2000 and 2002, came as wild cards.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Maya Joint of Australia hits a forehand to Iga Swiatek of Poland during their quarterfinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
Novak Djokovic or Serbia attends a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jannik Sinner of Italy smiles during a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Serena Williams of the United States holds a ball during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Serena Williams of the United States arrives at a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Serena Williams of the United States smiles after a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
