Committee member urges subpoenas after Leon Black declines to answer questions

A committee member said Leon Black declined to answer critical questions during a transcribed interview and urged the panel to issue subpoenas and compel under‑oath depositions to pursue justice for alleged survivors connected to Jeffrey Epstein and associates.

The committee member said the refusal to answer hindered the investigation and stressed the committee’s responsibility to the survivors. "It was clear from the moment that this interview started that Leon Black was not going to answer critical questions," the committee member said, adding that "he wouldn't answer those questions." The speaker said without answers, investigators cannot "move our investigation forward" or secure justice for those allegedly abused, trafficked and raped by Epstein and others.

The speaker praised the majority and Chairman Comer for deciding to seek further testimony and called subpoenas "critical." They urged that future testimony be taken under oath, noting that transcribed interviews allow witnesses to claim they were not under oath and therefore decline to answer. "This is why under oath depositions are so important," the committee member said, and added that the panel should seek such depositions "every single time and for every single witness." The speaker said they "look forward to Leon Black coming back under oath and answering all of our questions."

The transcript records the committee member’s statements and expressions of support for subpoenas and under‑oath testimony but does not record a formal vote or recorded motion to issue a subpoena. The committee’s next procedural steps were presented as expectations rather than a recorded formal action in the provided transcript.