Fresh disclosures in the long-running Jeffrey Epstein saga have claimed another high-profile scalp on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer, Kathy Ruemmler — once a White House counsel and one of the most powerful legal figures in global finance — has resigned after US Justice Department documents detailed her past communications and exchanges of gifts with the disgraced financier.
CEO David Solomon informed media that Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer Kathy Ruemmler has resigned following the release of fresh documents by the US Justice Department detailing her past communications with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Ruemmler, one of the most senior executives at the Wall Street bank, stepped down after the documents revealed she had exchanged extensive emails with Epstein between 2014 and 2019, accepted gifts from him and advised him on handling media inquiries related to his criminal case.
Her resignation marks one of the most high-profile exits in the banking sector since the latest tranche of Epstein-related documents became public last month.
In a statement, Solomon said he had accepted Ruemmler’s resignation and respected her decision. “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,” he said.
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Ruemmler told the Financial Times that the media attention surrounding her prior work as a defence attorney had become a distraction.
Before joining Goldman Sachs, Ruemmler served as global chair of the white-collar defense and investigations practice at Latham & Watkins and was White House Counsel during the Obama administration.
The newly released documents show Ruemmler referred to Epstein in emails as “Uncle Jeffrey” and received gifts including wine, a handbag and an Apple Watch band.
In one 2018 exchange, she expressed interest in a Hermès Apple Watch band after a third party indicated Epstein wished to gift it to her. The records also indicate that Epstein contacted Ruemmler on July 6, 2019 — the day he was arrested on sex trafficking charges — among several calls made that evening.
In an earlier statement to Reuters, Ruemmler said she had interacted with Epstein strictly in her capacity as a defence lawyer. “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,” she said, adding that the emails cited were unrelated to her work at Goldman Sachs.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges and died the following month in a Manhattan jail cell in what authorities ruled a suicide.
ALSO READ: ‘Evil’, ‘Disgusting’: Trump Bashed Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell During First Probe, Records Show
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