Goldman Sachs’s top lawyer announced her upcoming resignation on Thursday after the latest tranche of the Epstein files showed her adoring the convicted sex offender by calling him “Uncle Jeffrey.”
Kathryn Ruemmler said she “regretfully informed” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon that she is stepping down as chief legal officer and general counsel by June 30.
“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,” she said in a statement reported by multiple news outlets. “My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first.”
Before joining Goldman Sachs in a different post, Ruemmler counseled former President Barack Obama during her time at the White House.
Ruemmler is the latest public figure to face repercussions for exhibiting close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who sent her expensive gifts at one point.
In an October 2018 email concerning a delivery, the attorney wrote, “So lovely and thoughtful! Thank you to Uncle Jeffrey!!!”
She seemed particularly fond of the nickname as that wasn’t the only time she used it.
After Epstein directed his assistant to book a spa day at Four Seasons for her in August 2016, Ruemmler accepted the offer and profusely thanked her friend.
“I am in DC and will go to the Four Seasons there. Probably easiest for me to schedule. I think I will go today or tomorrow,” she wrote in the email. “Thank you again!! And thanks to Uncle Jeffrey!”
Their interactions were quite extensive before his death in 2019. “Kathy Ruemmler” appeared in the Justice Department’s Epstein files database thousands of times. She now calls him a “monster” and regrets ever being friends with him.
Since the DOJ released more than 3.5 million pages of investigative materials in the federal government’s possession late last month, there have been many resignations, particularly in Europe.
For instance, a close aide to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer handed in his resignation this week after advising Starmer on appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Aware of Mandelson’s ties to Epstein, the aide pushed for his appointment anyway. The United Kingdom is still reeling from the high-profile resignation as Starmer faces mounting scrutiny over the issue.
Meanwhile, very few resignations have resulted from the Epstein files at the highest level of the U.S. government.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, two Trump administration officials who had past ties to Epstein, have not resigned nor have they been told to step down by the White House.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he was not “aware” of Lutnick’s planned visit to Epstein’s private island in 2012 and that he had not spoken to the Cabinet secretary about it. Trump also took the opportunity to boast that he “was never there.”
Lutnick and Oz have not been accused of any wrongdoing in knowing Epstein.
TRUMP SAYS HE ‘WASN’T AWARE’ OF LUTNICK’S 2012 VISIT TO EPSTEIN’S ISLAND
Confirming Ruemmler’s resignation, the head of Goldman Sachs thanked her for serving the investment banking company since 2020.
“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,” Solomon said in a statement of his own. “As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed. I accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision.”