Leon Black says he "made a terrible mistake" doing business with Jeffrey Epstein
29 October 2020
Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black on Wednesday said during an earnings call that he made a "terrible mistake" by employing Jeffrey Epstein to work on personal financial and philanthropic services.
Why it matters: Apollo is one of the world's largest private equity firms, and already has lost at least one major client over Black's involvement with Epstein.
Black began the call saying that "it runs counter to my nature to speak publicly about personal matters," but believed he must because those matters are no affecting Apollo.
- "With the benefit of hindsight, working with [Epstein] was a horrible decision on my part."
- Black reiterated that Apollo never did business with Epstein. He also said that there is vetted documentation of the professional services provided by Epstein to Black and Black's family foundation, related to "estate planning, tax, structuring of art entities and philanthropic advice" between 2012 and 2017."
- Black explained that while he knew of Epstein's 2008 guilty plea in Florida for soliciting an underage girl for sex, he was led to believe Epstein had rehabilitated himself as evidenced by the "distinguished" people with whom Epstein associated.
- Black rejected any suggestion that he was ever blackmailed by Epstein, calling it "categorically untrue."
- He said that he wasn't made aware of the most "reprehensible" allegations against Epstein until "late 2018," even though many of them were reported on years earlier.
Black declined to take questions on Epstein from analysts, citing an investigation being conducted by law firm Dechert on Apollo's behalf.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.