High Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler said late Thursday that she would leave the investment bank at the end of June, a move that came after a flurry of media reports highlighting documents detailing former White House counsel’s often friendly email conversations with notorious sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Goldman, for months, defended Ruemmler after the Congress, then after the Ministry of Justice published emails between her and Epstein, as well as others documents related to investigations into him.
Ruemmler, who was a key advisor to David Solomon, CEO of Goldman since joining the bank in 2020, said the Financial Times On Thursday, “I made the decision that the media attention on me, related to my previous work as a defense attorney, was becoming a distraction.”
The FT first reported the 54-year-old’s decision to leave Goldman, where she was general counsel and legal director, earlier this summer.
Solomon, in an interview Friday with CNBC “scream box,” called Ruemmler “a wonderful human being.”
“She called me yesterday afternoon and told me that … the media coverage of the work she had previously done and this whole situation had just reached a level of noise and distraction that she felt was distracting the company,” Solomon said. “It put her in a position where it was difficult for her to carry out her job and responsibilities, and she just thought it was time to step aside.”
Ruemmler, in a statement Thursday evening to CNBC, said: “Since joining Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm’s legal, reputational and regulatory matters; improve our robust risk management processes; and to ensure that we uphold our core value of integrity in everything we do. »
“My responsibility is to put the interests of Goldman Sachs first,” Ruemmler said.
“Earlier today, I regretfully informed David Solomon of my intention to step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs effective June 30, 2026.”
Solomon, in a statement released Thursday, said: “Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and thoughtful counsel on a wide range of legal issues important to the firm. »
“As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our staff, and she will be missed. I have accepted her resignation and respect her decision,” Solomon said.
His announcement of his departure from Goldman comes nearly a week later The Wall Street Journal reported that Ruemmler was one of three people Epstein called on July 6, 2019, after they were arrested by federal authorities on child sex trafficking charges at a New Jersey airport.
The Journal report cites a series of handwritten law enforcement notes about comments Epstein made inside an FBI vehicle after his arrest.
These notes are part of documents released at the end of January by the Justice Department, CNBC confirmed.
Other news reports detailed emails and documents showing how Epstein gave Ruemmler gifts, including an Hermès bag and other luxury items, such as a Fendi handbag, visits to the spa, Bergdorf Goodman Gift Cards And flowers. On one occasion, she thanked him profusely, calling him “Uncle Jeffrey,” according to an email.
Ruemmler was a white-collar criminal defense attorney at the firm Latham & Watkins during the years she spoke with Epstein, whom she met in 2014.
An email from August 14, 2014 contained in the Epstein DOJ files shows how he asked her to represent his client, Banque Edmond de Rothschild.
“They have a problem with the Department of Justice…like all the other Swiss banks,” Epstein wrote to him.
Ruemmler took on the bank as Latham’s client.
Ruemmler said she never represented Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York federal prison weeks after his 2019 arrest.
Read more about CNBC’s politics coverageRuemmler spokeswoman Jennifer Connelly told the Journal last Friday: “These documents are consistent with what Ms. Ruemmler has said repeatedly: She knew Epstein when she was a criminal attorney and shared a client with him.”
“She was friendly with him in that context. She had no knowledge of any criminal conduct on his part,” Connelly said.
Ruemmler previously served as White House counsel under former President Barack Obama.
She is the latest person to lose a high-profile position because of her previous association with Epstein.
On Sunday, Morgan Sweeney resigned as chief of staff for British Prime Minister Keir Starmersaying he had taken responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as British Ambassador to the United States. Starmer fired Mandelson from the post in September following revelations about his links to Epstein.
Last week, Brad Karppresident of the large business law firm Paul Weissresigned from that position after fallout over emails between him and Epstein. Karp remains with the company.
In response to Epstein’s emails, a spokesperson for Paul Weiss previously said: “Mr. Karp never witnessed or participated in any misconduct. Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York and had a small number of social interactions via email, which he regrets.”
Karp said he was stepping down as president due to news distraction.
In November, after a congressional committee released emails between Ruemmler and Epstein, Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto told CNBC: “These emails were private correspondence long before Kathy Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs. »
“Kathy is an exceptional general counsel and we benefit from her judgment every day,” Fratto said at the time.
Ruemmler previously told the Journal that she regretted knowing Epstein.
Among the new series of emails released by the DOJ in late January is one that Ruemmler sent to Epstein in March 2019, four months before his arrest.
In that email, she offered advice on how to respond to criticism that he had already received special treatment and light punishment in 2008 because of his wealth and political connections when he avoided federal prosecution in exchange for pleading guilty in Florida state court to a charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
At the time Epstein sought advice from Ruemmler, he had been the subject of a series of articles in the Miami Herald that criticized federal prosecutors’ decision not to file charges against him in 2008. Epstein ended up serving only 13 months in a state prison in Florida, but was allowed to visit his office during the day for much of that time.
The thread’s subject line, “From wapo,” suggests that Epstein was contacting Ruemmler following a Washington Post investigation into him.
Ruemmler wrote in the email: “Something like: … ‘The review is false and reflects a [misunderstanding] of the facts underlying Mr. Epstein’s case and how he was [prosecuted] by local and federal authorities.
“Far from [receiving] a cherished deal, Mr. Epstein was subjected to a long and aggressive, [and] highly unusual federal investigation into what was, in essence, a local matter [offenses] of sexual solicitation,” Ruemmler wrote. “He accepted responsibility, served [time and] prison and paid significant monetary compensation to the victims [involved]”.
Ruemmler, in a bracketed section, also suggested saying something like: “Without his wealth, it is difficult to imagine that Mr. Epstein… would have received the aggressive treatment he received from Mr. Epstein.” [federal] prosecutors, and he would certainly never have been subjected to the [salacious] and the malicious treatment by the media to which he continues to be subjected more than 10 years after the resolution of the case.”
