Sen. Wyden wants to know why Leon Black paid Epstein $170 million for tax planning

Politics Sen. Ron Wyden wants to know why Leon Black paid Epstein $170 million for tax planning over 5-year period By Graham Kates, Graham Kates Reporter Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com Read Full Bio Graham Kates, Daniel Ruetenik Daniel Ruetenik Producer, Investigative Unit Daniel Ruetenik is a producer with CBS News' Investigative Unit, reporting for all CBS News platforms. Read Full Bio Daniel Ruetenik Updated on: June 4, 2026 / 6:10 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon is demanding that a House panel question billionaire Leon Black over the extraordinary sums he paid Jeffrey Epstein for tax advice when he testifies before the House Oversight Committee later this month.In a letter Thursday to the committee's chairman, GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, and Democratic Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, Wyden outlined the results of a four-year investigation into Black's relationship with Epstein.Wyden wrote in his letter that Black paid Epstein $170 million between 2012 and 2017 for tax and estate planning advice."To date, I do not believe Black has provided a credible explanation as to why he paid Epstein amounts that vastly exceeded those paid to other professional advisors involved in his tax and estate planning," Wyden wrote.Wyden's letter notes that in 2013 and 2014, Black also paid a law firm $2 million for estate planning, a small fraction of what he paid Epstein during those years."Black's attorneys from premier law firms demand rates exceeding $1,000 an hour, yet Epstein was paid exponentially more than a small army of high-priced lawyers from firms," Wyden wrote.Wyden had written to Black in March to demand answers to questions related to revelations from the so-called Epstein files about Black's "significant personal and financial entanglements with Eps...