众议院监督委员会周二投票裁定亿万富翁利昂·布莱克藐视国会，藐视要求他出庭作证并交出文件的两份传票，立法者认为这些文件与该委员会对被定罪的性犯罪者的调查有关杰弗里·爱泼斯坦．
全票是41比0。藐视法庭的决议现在提交众议院审议。
布莱克拒绝了委员会的传票，传票要求他在9月3日的闭门证词中宣誓作证，并交出委员会在传票下寻求的保密协议，作为小组的一部分正在调查政府对爱普斯坦调查的处理。
“他收到了合法的传票，但他没有露面，”R-Ky公司董事长詹姆斯·卡莫说。周二早上告诉记者。“所以我们有很多问题要问他。这是一项非常严肃的调查。”
卡莫告诉美国广播公司新闻，他预计在立法者周四离开参加中期选举之前，本周将就藐视法庭的决议进行投票。
然而，在周二提价后，他听从了共和党领导层的意见。发言人迈克·约翰逊没有说众议院什么时候会考虑藐视法庭的决议。
“判利昂·布莱克藐视国会是为杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的幸存者争取正义的关键一步，”该委员会的民主党众议员罗伯特·加西亚在一份声明中说。“他没有出庭作证，并拒绝向本委员会提供关键信息。众议院现在必须投票判他藐视法庭。”
卡莫，谁是命名的黑方反诉说，爱泼斯坦的调查和对布莱克证词的要求都是两党的。
“因此，我们在世界各地试图让他进来，并查看一些我们传唤但拒绝出示的文件。因此，我们将像对待其他所有藐视合法国会传票的人一样对待他，”卡莫说。
布莱克的律师苏珊·埃斯特里奇（Susan Estrich）和亚伦·卡特勒（Aaron Cutler）称这种藐视法庭的加价“完全令人憎恶”。
“这是报复——简单明了，”布莱克的律师在一份声明中写道。“我们有起诉卡莫主席和委员会的宪法权利，因为发出的传票是不正当的、非法的，是教科书式的滥用权力，旨在欺负和破坏对公民个人的法律保护。”
在周二给卡莫和加西亚的信中，布莱克的律师要求推迟对藐视法庭决议的考虑，直到法院对他的法律挑战做出完全裁决。
“对布莱克先生的公平，对委员会机构责任的尊重，以及国会藐视法庭程序的完整性，都需要推迟，”信中写道。
布莱克，在他的诉讼中，正在寻求宣告性和禁令性救济，阻止委员会强制遵守传票。
根据参议院财政委员会的说法，布莱克自20世纪90年代中期以来一直与爱泼斯坦保持着社会关系，并最终向他支付了超过1．7亿美元的“税收和遗产规划建议”，他在6月份之前自愿出现在监督小组面前过早离开闭门面试。
布莱克否认自己有不当行为，也不知道爱泼斯坦的罪行，尽管在爱泼斯坦之后的几年里，他向被定罪的性犯罪者支付的金钱是他的救命稻草2008年刑期因为引诱未成年人卖淫。
House Oversight votes to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress in Epstein inquiry
The House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying two subpoenas that demanded he appear for a deposition as well as turn over documents lawmakers believe are pertinent to the panel＇s inquiry into convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein．
The unanimous voted was 41-0． The contempt resolution now heads to the House floor for consideration．
Black bucked a committee subpoena calling on him to testify under oath at a closed-door deposition on Sept． 3， as well as turn over nondisclosure agreements that the committee is seeking under subpoena， as part of the panel＇songoing probeinto the government＇s handling of the investigations into Epstein．
＂He was issued a lawful subpoena， and he didn＇t show，＂ Chairman James Comer， R-Ky．， told reporters Tuesday morning． ＂So we have a lot of questions for him． This is an investigation that＇s very serious．＂
Comer told ABC News that he expects a floor vote on the contempt resolution this week before lawmakers leave Thursday to campaign for the midterms．
However， he deferred to GOP leadership to make the call following the markup Tuesday． Speaker Mike Johnson has not said when the House will consider the contempt resolution．
＂Holding Leon Black in contempt of Congress is a critical step in the fight for justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein，＂ Rep． Robert Garcia， the committee＇s ranking Democrat， said in a statement． ＂He failed to appear for his deposition and has refused to provide critical information to this Committee． The House must now vote to hold him in contempt．＂
Comer， who is named in acountersuit from Black， said the Epstein investigation and the demand for Black＇s testimony are both bipartisan．
＂So we＇ve tried everywhere in the world to get him in， as well as to see some documents that we＇ve subpoenaed and refused to show． So we＇re going to treat him just like we＇ve treated everyone else that defied a lawful congressional subpoena，＂ Comer said．
Black＇s attorneys， Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler， called the contempt markup ＂a complete abomination．＂
＂This is retaliation -- plain and simple，＂ Black＇s lawyers wrote in a statement． ＂We have the constitutional right to sue Chairman Comer and the Committee because the subpoenas issued were illegitimate， illegal and a textbook abuse of power designed to bully and destroy legal protections of private citizens．＂
In a Tuesday letter to Comer and Garcia， Black＇s lawyers asked that consideration of the contempt resolution be postponed until the courts have fully ruled on his legal challenges．
＂Fairness to Mr． Black， respect for the Committee＇s institutional responsibilities， and the integrity of the congressional contempt process require postponement，＂ the letter states．
Black， in his lawsuit， is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief preventing the committee from compelling compliance with the subpoenas．
Black， who maintained a social relationship with Epstein since the mid-1990s and eventually paid him more than $170 million for ＂tax and estate planning advice，＂ according to the Senate Finance Committee， appeared voluntarily before the Oversight panel in June -- beforeprematurely leavingthe closed-door interview．
Black has denied wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein＇s crimes， though his financial payments to the convicted sex offender served as a lifeline in the years following Epstein＇s2008 prison sentencefor soliciting a minor for prostitution．
