Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler will step down from her role after the newly-released Epstein files showed that she maintained a relationship with him beyond his first conviction for child prostitution.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Ruemmler, who previously served as White House counsel to President Barack Obama, will resign effective June 30. The 54-year-old has been with Goldman since 2020.
Ruemmler told the Financial Times, “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction.”
Goldman chief executive David Solomon–who has been supportive of Ruemmler since her ties to Epstein first emerged–said in a statement to the Daily Beast that he respected Ruemmler’s decision and that she “will be missed,” adding, “Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm.”
Ruemmler’s relationship with Epstein initially came to light in 2023, when The Wall Street Journal reported that she had regularly met with Epstein in the years following his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. They first connected following her departure from the White House in 2014, according to the Daily Mail.
Their relationship was such that Epstein had even planned for Ruemmler to join him on a 2015 trip to Paris and a 2017 visit to his private island in the Caribbean.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said in 2023 that Ruemmler had a professional relationship with Epstein and did not travel with him, while Ruemmler herself said, “I regret ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein.” She made a similar statement to the Financial Times on Thursday, claiming, “I made decisions based on the information that was available to me. I have an enormous amount of sympathy and heartache for anyone who he hurt.”
Files released by the Justice Department in connection with the Epstein case provided further context for the nature of their relationship. Ruemmler was listed as a backup executor in one version of Epstein’s will, and he called her the night he was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking minors. She was also gifted a Hermès bag and various other perks.
The files also revealed the pair’s extensive email correspondence, including one email from 2015 in which Ruemmler referred to Epstein as “wonderful Jeffrey,” and another in which she said of her relationship with the convicted pedophile, “I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!”
An email sent to Epstein on his 62nd birthday in 2015 from Ruemmler read, “I hope you enjoy the day with your one true love. :-)”
Epstein’s typo-laden reply is somewhat more eyebrow-raising. “They say men usually gvie a name to their penis, as =t would be inappropriate to make love to a total stranger,” he wrote.
Ruemmler had more than three dozen meetings with Epstein between 2014 and 2019, including lunches and dinners. On the nature of their relationship, a Goldman spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal in 2023, “In the normal course, Epstein also invited her to meetings and social gatherings, introduced her to other business contacts and made referrals.”
“It was the same kinds of contacts and engagements she had with other contacts and clients.”
Ruemmler joins a growing number of powerful people experiencing repercussions after the publication of the Epstein files revealed their ties to the convicted sex trafficker.
Others revealed to have had relationships with Epstein include Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was confronted about their relationship during his appearance before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday.
In addition, Yale professor David Gelernter was removed from teaching duties while the university investigates his relationship with Epstein, while Hollywood agent—and 2028 Olympic Committee chair—Casey Wasserman’s fate is up in the air following a mass exodus of artists from his agency in response to his relationship with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Newly-appointed CBS News contributor Peter Attia was also revealed to have had a friendly relationship with Epstein in the newest file dump, while Brad Karp, the chair of U.S. law firm Paul Weiss, stepped down last week after his ties to Epstein were exposed.
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