Kathryn Ruemmler, the former Obama White House counsel and Goldman Sachs chief legal officer, has been forced to step down after the DOJ-released Epstein files revealed thousands of emails with the convicted sex offender, including bizarre sexual messages after his first conviction.
Apparently, she downplayed allegations as “fantastical,” offered advice amid scrutiny, and coordinated on island visits. In response to the scandal, her representative denied wrongdoing in statements to the press about the matter, forcefully stating that no evidence of misconduct exists.
Explaining the decision, Kathryn Ruemmler spoke to the media after her disgrace and resignation was made very public. “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction,” she said.
In a formal statement, she added, “Since I joined Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm’s legal, reputational, and regulatory matters; to enhance our strong risk management processes; and to ensure that we live by our core value of integrity in everything we do.”
“My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first,” she continued, “Earlier today, I regretfully informed David Solomon of my intention to step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026.”
Offering more context, Goldman CEO David Solomon noted, “She called me yesterday afternoon and told me that … the press coverage of the work that she had done previously and of this whole situation had just gotten to a level of noise and distraction that she thought was distracting the firm.”
Building on this point, the major businessman described the fallout of the scandal, saying, “It was putting her in a position where it was hard for her to execute on her job and her responsibilities, and she just thought it was time to step away.”
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Making his own statement, he added, “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.”
Jennifer Connelly, Ruemmler’s spokeswoman, spoke to The Wall Street Journal, where she claimed, “These documents are consistent with what Ms. Ruemmler has repeatedly said: She knew Epstein when she was a criminal defense attorney and shared a client with him. She was friendly with him in that context. She had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part.”
However, in her emails to the controversial fincier, she said, “Something like: … ’The criticism is wrong and reflects a fundamental [misunderstanding] of both the facts underlying Mr. Epstein’s case and how it was [prosecuted] by both local and federal authorities.”
Offering more advice to Epstein, she recommended stating, “Far from [receiving] a sweetheart deal, Mr. Epstein was subjected to a lengthy, aggressive, [and] highly unusual federal investigation for what were, in essence, local [offenses] of sexual solicitation.”
In a bizarre 2015 birthday message from Ruemmler to Epstein, she wrote, “I hope you enjoy the day with your one true love :-).” Responding, Esptein said, “they say that men usually gvie [sic] a name to their penis, as [it] would be inappropriate to make love to a total stranger.”
Watch a Democrat congressman go berserk when his party’s Epstein ties got called out:
Featured image: By White House photographer, probably Ralph Alswang – https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-epstein-maxwell/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143417692