#subpoena
2 entries with this tag
Leon Black Testifies He Paid Epstein $158 Million, Refuses to Answer NDA Questions, Gets Subpoenaed Mid-Interview — Judge Finds Trump's Acting AG "Conceded" He's Violating Epstein Files Law, Orders Unredaction of Trump Sexual Assault Allegation and "Torture Video" Emails
Billionaire Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, testified before the House Oversight Committee and admitted paying Jeffrey Epstein $158 million — 30 to 60 times more than he paid other advisors for similar work. He claimed he "knew Jekyll, didn't know Hyde," said Epstein told him the fees were tax-deductible "60-cent dollars" (they weren't), and acknowledged continuing the relationship five years after Epstein's 2008 guilty plea to sex crimes involving a minor. When pressed on nondisclosure agreements — including one involving a six-year affair with a Russian model where Epstein advised Black on silencing her — Black refused to answer and was described by Democrats as having "stormed out." Chairman Comer issued two subpoenas on the spot: one for Black's NDAs, another for a videotaped deposition under oath on July 16. "Please call Leon Black" appears over 300 times in Epstein's files. Black's name appears 8,000+ times. He paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to avoid prosecution and explicitly acknowledged his money funded Epstein's sex trafficking operation. Three women have accused him of rape on Epstein properties — one was 16 with a rare form of Down syndrome. Meanwhile, federal judge Emmet Sullivan found that acting AG Todd Blanche "has conceded that he is in violation" of the Epstein Files Transparency Act and ordered the DOJ to unredact files by July 2 — including an FBI interview with a woman who alleged Trump sexually assaulted her as a teenager after Epstein introduced them (the FBI found her credible and interviewed her four times), and emails about a "torture video" involving sexual activity with minors. A New York Times report revealed VP Vance held Situation Room meetings to coordinate the White House's Epstein cover-up strategy, appearing "panicked" about the MAGA base's reaction. The Situation Room — designed for national security emergencies — became the nerve center for managing the Epstein crisis all summer, with Trump himself refusing to attend because he "snapped at anyone who mentioned it."
Trump Handed His Acting AG a Stack of News Articles with "Treason" Written in Sharpie — The DOJ Then Tried to Drag Post and Journal Reporters Before a Grand Jury, and Backed Down
The Washington Post reported on June 23, 2026, that Trump's Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas this spring to compel reporters from The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal to testify under oath in a leak investigation — then withdrew them earlier this month after the two newsrooms challenged them in a secret legal fight in the Eastern District of Virginia. The targets were Post national security reporter Ellen Nakashima and three unnamed Wall Street Journal reporters. CNN reported that Trump personally pushed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to issue the subpoenas, handing him a stack of printed articles with the word "Treason" written across them in Sharpie. The leak hunt was driven by Trump's anger over carefully sourced stories warning of the risks of attacking Iran — stories that turned out to be prescient. Compelling a journalist to reveal sources before a grand jury is extraordinarily rare; the National Press Club called it "one of the most aggressive actions against a free and independent press in recent memory." It followed a deliberate dismantling of press protections: in April, AG Pam Bondi rescinded the Biden-era policy shielding reporters' records, and in January the FBI searched the home of Post reporter Hannah Natanson and seized her devices. No reporter testified — but the DOJ offered no explanation for the withdrawal, leaving open whether the subpoenas will simply be reissued.