WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a resolution Wednesday holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress, referring the matter to the Department of Justice after he defied the Oversight Committee's subpoenas in its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The action was swift, and without a formal vote, and now leaves it to the Justice Department to decide whether to seek criminal prosecution. Black has refused to respond to the subpoenas' requests to appear and to turn over any potential nondisclosure agreements involving the investigation into Epstein.
Republicans and Democrats from the Oversight Committee joined in a bipartisan effort to advance the resolution forward.
“No one is above the law,” Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the Oversight Committee chairman, said in a statement. "We will continue to seek transparency for the American people and justice for survivors in our investigation of the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell criminal cases.”
California Rep. Robert Garcia, the panel's top Democrat, called the vote “an important step towards justice and accountability.”
Black's lawyers have denounced the Oversight Committee's pursuit of the former head of a private equity firm as an abuse of congressional power. They said he "had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”
“The Committee has continued to insist on looking for information that does not exist,” attorneys Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler said in a statement.
They called the action “politically motivated” and have sued the committee and asked the Office of Congressional Conduct to open a probe into Comer's tactics.
“This an outrageous action that ignores the facts and the truth about Mr. Black," they said.
Black is the latest among several prominent figures, including Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, who have been asked to appear as part of the Oversight Committee's long-running probe of Epstein. Survivors of Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse have told personal stories of being young women in a trafficking enterprise organized by Epstein and his colleague Maxwell.
In June, Black did appear for a voluntary interview at the committee. Lawmakers said later that he refused to answer their questions about the nondisclosure agreements.
The committee issued two subpoenas seeking to compel Black to produce the NDAs and to appear for a deposition July 16. The committee said it had accommodated Black’s request to delay the deposition to Sept. 3, but he refused to appear.
On Tuesday the Oversight Committee voted unanimously to approve the contempt recommendation, sending it to the full House.
Black co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management and stepped down in 2021 during the fallout over his ties to Epstein.
Lawmakers have alleged that Black paid Epstein $180 million during their yearslong relationship.
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.”
FILE - Leon Black, a billionaire who was close with Jeffrey Epstein, arrives for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee at the Capitol in Washington, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Players around the NHL step on the ice Thursday, right around the same time of year training camps usually open up. Only this time, opening night is less than two weeks away.
“It's quick,” Philadelphia's Jamie Drysdale said. “It’s going to be really fast.”
This is the new normal with the expanded regular-season schedule making for shorter camps and fewer exhibition games. Each team will play 84 times once the pucks drop for real, but the ramp-up to the league's earliest start has even seasoned veterans unsure how it is going to go.
“Until we go through it, it’s hard to say,” said Pittsburgh captain and three-time Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby, who's going into his 22nd NHL season. “I don’t know how it’ll be."
Most established players are in favor of the change, negotiated by the union and owners as part of the labor agreement that is now in effect. Nearly every team has just four preseason games, and anyone who has played more than 100 regular-season career games cannot take part in more than two.
“I like it even better, probably,” Boston winger David Pastrnak said. “I’m maybe speaking (from) more of a veteran position, so it’s definitely better for us. ... With more games, it makes sense to cut it down a little bit.”
Cut out entirely are mandatory fitness tests that have haunted players for decades. They think the whole concept is antiquated, given that August informal skates have become customary and camp isn't used for getting into shape anymore.
“If you’re not coming into camp ready to go, in good shape, ready to dominate those tests, then really what are you doing?” Chicago's Frank Nazar said. “You’re responsible for your own summer and for your own body, and if you’re not coming ready to go, then someone’s going to take your spot and for a good reason. I think it just cuts that babysitting aspect of it out and you’re able to just take responsibility for your actions.”
It may be slightly worse for the five teams — Vegas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver — with a brand-new coach. Others, such as Columbus and the New York Islanders, made mid- or late-season moves behind the bench.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Golden Knights center Jack Eichel said. “You have a team like ours that played until the middle of June and had a shorter offseason, so it might not be a bad thing. At the same time, we have a veteran team and sometimes you utilize training camp as a few extra weeks to prepare for the season.”
Most 23-player rosters are pretty much set, but there are a handful of spots around the league up for grabs annually. Young players looking to crack the NHL unexpectedly and those on professional tryout agreements have a shorter runway to impress management and coaching staffs.
“How we adapted was a smaller camp, and we’re getting to our NHL group quicker,” Islanders coach Peter DeBoer said. “Unfortunately, the flip side of that is some prospects that in the past might have played some games and you got the chance to look at maybe don’t get that opportunity.”
Three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg and Detroit center — and now former captain — Dylan Larkin each asked for trades during the offseason. Unlike Brady Tkachuk, who got dealt from Ottawa to Florida to play with brother Matthew, Hellebuyck and Larkin are still with the teams they want to leave.
Larkin said he’ll be there for the Red Wings, though interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said Wednesday the 30-year-old center would not be ready for the start of camp because of an upper-body injury.
Hellebuyck went public with his trade request a few weeks ago, and the Jets said they were working through the situation. No player with a contract has refused to report to camp this century, going back to Alexei Yashin's 1999 holdout.
“He’s obviously a very good friend of mine that I’ve played with for a long time,” center Mark Scheifele said. “I just want to be there as a friend but also at the same time focus on myself and what I can do for the Winnipeg Jets.”
After Anaheim signed Cutter Gauthier on Tuesday night, there were just four restricted free agents left without a contract on the eve of camp: Columbus' Adam Fantilli, Carolina's Alexander Nikishin, Detroit's Simon Edvinsson and Calgary's Brennan Othmann.
Last season's NHL MVP, Nikita Kucherov, does not yet have an extension with Tampa Bay and could hit the market July 1 if one is not hammered out by then. Colorado coach Jared Bednar is also going into the final year of his contract, four years since guiding the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup.
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
FILE - New York Islanders new head coach Peter DeBoer speaks after an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, April 14, 2026, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
In this photo taken with a smartphono, Chicago Blackhawks players, from left, Patrick Kane, Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi pose during a news conference introducing Bedard as the new captain of the NHL hockey club, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jay Cohen)
FILE - Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Detroit, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
FILE - St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas reacts after scoring an empty-net goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, March 1, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt, File)
