NEW YORK (AP) — Kathy Ruemmler, a top lawyer at legendary investment bank Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation Thursday after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein showed a close relationship in which she described him as an “older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.
Ruemmler said in a statement that she would “resign as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs effective June 30, 2026.”
Until her resignation, Ruemmler repeatedly tried to distance herself from the emails and other correspondence and had been defiant that she would not resign from Goldman’s top legal position, which she has held since 2020.
While Rümmler called Epstein a ‘monster’ in recent statements, she had a very different relationship with Epstein before he was arrested for sex crimes for a second time in 2019 and later committed suicide in a Manhattan jail. Ruemmler referred to Epstein as “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she adored him.
In a statement before her resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Ruemmler “regrets ever having known him.”
In her statement Thursday, Ruemmler said: “Since joining Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm’s legal, reputational and regulatory affairs; to enhance our strong risk management processes; and to ensure that we live our core value of integrity in everything we do. It is my responsibility to put the interests of Goldman Sachs first.”
Goldman CEO David Solomon said in a separate statement: “As one of the most talented professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed. I have accepted her resignation and I respect her decision.”
While in private practice after leaving the White House in 2014, Ruemmler received several expensive gifts from Epstein, including luxury handbags and a fur coat. The gifts were given after Epstein had already been convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and registered as a sex offender.
“So sweet and thoughtful! Thank you to Uncle Jeffrey!!!” Ruemmler wrote to Epstein in 2018.
Historically, Wall Street has frowned on gift giving between clients and bankers or Wall Street lawyers, especially high-value gifts that could pose a conflict of interest. Goldman Sachs requires its employees to obtain prior approval before receiving or giving gifts to clients, in accordance with the company’s code of conduct, in part to avoid running afoul of anti-bribery laws.
As recently as December, Goldman CEO David Solomon described Ruemmler as an “excellent attorney” and said she had his full confidence and support.
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