Epstein ties end career of Goldman Sach’s top lawyer
NEW YORK—Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathy Ruemmler has had a storied legal career. As a federal prosecutor, she helped successfully prosecute Enron executives, including Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.
She was part of President Barack Obama’s administration, working in various roles for much of his two terms in office, including as White House counsel. She was even briefly considered by President Obama as a candidate for attorney general.
On Thursday, Ruemmler, 54, announced that she plans to resign from the top legal post at Goldman after a trove of emails and correspondence between her and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein showed the two individuals were especially close, years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction on sex crimes charges, when he became a registered sex offender.
Ruemmler previously downplayed her relationship with Epstein. She called him a “monster” and said she regretted ever knowing him. Ruemmler has repeatedly described their relationship as professional, citing her job as a private defense attorney before she ever joined Goldman Sachs.
But documents released in recent weeks and reviewed by The Associated Press (AP) depict a deeper relationship than had previously been characterized by Ruemmler and Goldman Sachs. These included intimate email exchanges, social plans and gifts that went beyond formal legal work.
Roughly 8,400 documents involved Ruemmler or referenced her. Some correspondence shows that Ruemmler was aware of the extent of the allegations that Epstein had faced involving underage girls in Florida.
In some instances, she advised Epstein on how he might go about trying to repair his image and defend himself publicly against new claims of misconduct.
