Billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Black, who was held in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for refusing to elaborate on his close relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, once gave money to US Sen. Dan Sullivan.
According to records with the Federal Election Commission, Black gave $2,800 to Sullivan’s campaign committee on Nov. 6, 2019—a few months after Black’s close personal relationship with Epstein first came to light.
The details of the contribution, first reported by the Alaska Current, make Black the latest—and most high-profile—Epstein associate to be revealed as being on Sullivan’s donor list.
Meidas News first reported earlier this year that Sullivan had taken nearly $10,000 from Epstein associates, who had business dealings with Epstein but faced no allegations of wrongdoing.
Black, meanwhile, has defied two congressional subpoenas to formally testify and supply documents relating to his years-long relationship with the sex trafficker. That includes information on more than $150 million in payments to Epstein, which Black has said were for financial planning services.
While he’s also denied involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, flight records show that Black flew a Russian model to meet with Epstein in 2008.
Black’s connections ultimately forced him out of his position at Apollo Global Management, but not before he helped boost Sullivan heading into the 2020 election.
Like most Trump-aligned Republicans, Sullivan’s interest in releasing the Epstein files vanished after the 2024 election, when Trump returned to office and quickly set about downplaying his connection to the deceased sex trafficker.
Before congressional outrage at the president’s handling of the files boiled over and Congress voted to release them, Sullivan voted with Republicans to block their release, saying that he trusted the Department of Justice to handle their release. Sullivan also cast a key vote in support of confirming US Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has drawn significant criticism for his handling of the release of the Epstein files.
After voting to block the release, records show Sullivan ended up receiving nearly $10,000 from Epstein associates in the following months.
And for critics of the transactions, like Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft, the contributions aren’t just about the connection to Epstein, but also about Sullivan’s friendly ties to the ultra-rich.
“This is disgusting,” he said in a statement earlier this summer. “After voting against releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, Dan Sullivan is now taking money from ultra-wealthy donors who were Epstein’s associates. Too many politicians in DC protect the rich and powerful and enable their corruption – and Dan Sullivan, who tried to block the release of the Epstein files to the public, is one of them.”
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Bluesky.
