Kathryn Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, is stepping down after months of scrutiny over her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—a relationship laid bare in thousands of emails showing she accepted luxury gifts, called him “Uncle Jeffrey,” and advised him on how to frame his crimes as persecution.
Ruemmler’s resignation takes effect June 30. In a statement, she said her decision was about protecting the bank.
“My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first,” she said.
Goldman CEO David Solomon thanked her for “sound advice” and called her an “extraordinary general counsel.” But the carefully worded departure follows a steady drip of revelations that became an unmanageable public relations headache for the Wall Street giant.
‘Am Totally Tricked Out by Uncle Jeffrey’
The emails, disclosed as part of the ongoing Justice Department release of Epstein-related documents, paint a portrait of a relationship far warmer and more personal than Ruemmler has publicly acknowledged.
From 2014 to 2019—years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a child—Ruemmler exchanged hundreds of messages with the financier. In one 2015 email, she wrote to a redacted recipient: “I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!”
The affection was reciprocated with gifts. Epstein sent her flowers, wine, a Hermès bag, $10,000 in Bergdorf Goodman gift cards, and an Apple watch.
“Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey boots, handbag, and watch!” Ruemmler wrote in a 2019 message.
A Goldman spokesman previously downplayed the gifts, saying Epstein “often offered unsolicited favors and gifts to his many business contacts.”
Advising Epstein on His ‘Persecution’
Months before Epstein’s July 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges, Ruemmler was advising him on how to push back against media scrutiny of his 2008 plea deal, which many consider scandalously lenient.
In a March 2019 email, she drafted language arguing that Epstein had been subjected to “a lengthy, aggressive, highly unusual federal investigation for what were, in essence, local offenses of sexual solicitation.” She suggested framing the case as persecution due to his “wealth.”
There is no indication that Ruemmler ever sent the advice publicly on Epstein’s behalf. But the emails show she was actively counseling him on reputation management while he was under renewed investigation for sex trafficking.
The Night of His Arrest
Handwritten notes from a law enforcement official who participated in Epstein’s 2019 arrest suggest that on the night he was taken into custody, Epstein called Ruemmler. Her mobile phone number is redacted in the documents.
Ruemmler has maintained she never represented Epstein as a legal client. She told Reuters earlier this month: “I got to know him as a lawyer and that was the foundation of my relationship with him. I had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part, and I did not know him as the monster he has been revealed to be.”
From Obama’s Counsel to Goldman’s Top Lawyer
Ruemmler served as White House counsel from 2011 to 2014, one of the most senior lawyers in the Obama administration. After leaving the White House, she joined the private firm Latham & Watkins before moving to Goldman in 2020.
At Goldman, she led the bank’s reputational risk committee—the very unit responsible for vetting client relationships and protecting the firm from exactly the kind of scandal her own associations have now generated.
Her resignation follows a pattern. Last week, Brad Karp, chairman of the prestigious law firm Paul Weiss, stepped down after emails revealed he and Epstein had discussed the financier’s 2008 conviction.
What the Emails Don’t Show
There is no evidence Ruemmler engaged in or knew of Epstein’s criminal activities. The emails show friendship, gifts, and professional advice—not conspiracy.
But for a global bank already sensitive to reputational risk, the steady release of documents showing its top lawyer calling a convicted sex offender “Uncle Jeffrey” and accepting $10,000 gift cards became untenable.
The Justice Department has released more than three million pages of Epstein-related files to date. More are expected. For Ruemmler, the drip of revelations finally reached a point where staying meant fighting a losing battle—one her client, “Uncle Jeffrey,” lost years ago.
