NEW YORK — Kathy Ruemmler, the general counsel for Goldman Sachs, has had a long and successful career in law. As a federal prosecutor, she helped convict Enron executives like Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. She worked for President Barack Obama in a number of different jobs during his two terms in office, including as White House Counsel.
President Obama even thought about her for a short time as a contender for attorney general.
Ruemmler, 54, said on Thursday that she plans to step down from her position as the top lawyer at Goldman. This came after a large number of emails and letters between her and Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier who was convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and became a registered sex offender.
Ruemmler had minimized her contact with Epstein in the past. She told him he was a "monster" and that she wished she had never met him. Ruemmler has said many times that their connection is professional, pointing to the fact that she was a private defense attorney before she worked at Goldman Sachs.
But new papers that The Associated Press has looked at show that Ruemmler and Goldman Sachs had a stronger relationship than had been thought before. These included private emails, arrangements for social events, and presents that went beyond the normal work of a lawyer.
About 8,400 records had to do with Ruemmler or mentioned her. Some letters reveal that Ruemmler knew how serious the claims against Epstein were about him being with underage females in Florida. In certain cases, she told Epstein how he may try to fix his reputation and publicly defend himself against new accusations of wrongdoing.
News stories have listed the gifts Epstein sent Ruemmler, which include spa services, Hermes handbags, an Apple Watch, a Fendi coat, and many others. However, several of the exchanges between Epstein and Ruemmler that they talked about in their letters show that Epstein and Ruemmler did not just have a lawyer-client relationship, as Ruemmler had said before.
Epstein's aide wrote to Ruemmler in 2016, after Epstein paid for a spa treatment for her, "It makes him happy to see you happy."
Epstein told one of his subordinates to deliver Ruemmler flowers and chicken soup in October 2018 since she "hadn't been feeling well." Epstein had sent her a tiny gift of thanks before when she was unwell. They talked about problems with dating, made fun of both rich and poor individuals, and complained about their jobs and dating lives.
They would text each other about boring stuff like how much they both hated seeing newborns in business class on flights. They would also make plans to meet up for dinner or drinks in different areas over and over again. At one time, Epstein even had Ruemmler as a backup executor of his will.
Aside from the fact that Epstein is very rich and has a lot of problems with the law, many of the emails between the two would look like the kinds of jokes that many Americans send in their own texts, emails, or group chats.
"I really love him. It's like having an older brother again! In an email from 2015, she said
After leaving the White House in 2014, Ruemmler worked as a private lawyer and got several expensive presents from Epstein, such as designer handbags and a fur coat. Epstein had previously been found guilty of sex offenses in 2008 and was on the sex offender registry when the gifts were presented. After Epstein was arrested for sex crimes for the second time in 2019 and eventually murdered himself in a Manhattan jail, Ruemmler again helped with his legal defense.
"Such a nice and thoughtful thing to do!" Thanks a lot, Uncle Jeffrey! In 2018, Ruemmler wrote to Epstein.
She joined Goldman Sachs in 2020 and became the bank's top lawyer in 2021.
The company's officials publicly supported her during the revelations. But the damning emails made people question Ruemmler's judgment. In the past, Wall Street has not liked clients sending presents to bankers or Wall Street lawyers, especially expensive ones that could cause a conflict of interest. Goldman Sachs's code of conduct says that workers must acquire permission before giving or receiving gifts from customers. This is primarily to avoid breaking anti-bribery legislation.
Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, and other news outlets said that Goldman Sachs's partners, who are the firm's most senior and respected members from when it was a private investment bank, had started to wonder why the firm held Ruemmler in such high regard when other lawyers were just as qualified to be the top legal officer.
Ruemmler said on Thursday, "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." It is my job to put Goldman Sachs' needs first.
David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman, said he respected Ruemmler's choice to leave. The company isn't pushing Ruemmler out the door right away. They said in a statement that she would finish her work at the bank "to make sure the transition goes smoothly" before her departure day on June 30.
