FILE PHOTO: White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler listens as President Barack Obama speaks at an installation ceremony for FBI Director James Comey at FBI Headquarters in Washington, Monday, Oct. 28, 2013.
Charles Dharapak | AP
Top Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathy Ruemmler will leave the investment bank after the recent release of additional documents detailing her often chummy conversations with notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, her spokeswoman said Thursday night.
Goldman had defended Ruemmler for several months after the Department of Justice initially released emails between her and Epstein, as well as other documents related to investigations of him.
Her departure from Goldman comes days after The Wall Street Journal reported that Ruemmler was one of three people whom Epstein called on July 6, 2019, after being arrested by federal authorities on child sex trafficking charges at an airport in New Jersey. The Journal’s report cites a handwritten set of notes by law enforcement about comments Epstein made inside an FBI vehicle after his arrest.
Those notes are among documents released in late January by the Department of Justice, CNBC has confirmed.
Ruemmler, at the time of that call, was a white-collar criminal defense lawyer with the firm Latham & Watkins. She has said that she never represented Epstein, who killed himself in a New York federal jail weeks after his arrest.
Ruemmler’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Connelly, told the Journal for its story on Friday, “These documents are consistent with what Ms. Ruemmler has repeatedly said: She knew Epstein when she was a criminal defense attorney and shared a client with him.”
“She was friendly with him in that context. She had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part,” Connelly said.
Ruemmler previously served as White House counsel under former President Barack Obama.
Ruemmler had been Goldman’s chief legal officer and general counsel. She was also a key advisor to Goldman CEO David Solomon.
She is the latest person to lose a high-profile position because of her prior association with Epstein.
On Sunday, Morgan Sweeney resigned as chief of staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying he took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States. Starmer fired Mandelson from that post in September over disclosures about his connection to Epstein.
Last week, Brad Karp, chairman of the major corporate law firm Paul Weiss, resigned from that post after fallout over emails between him and Epstein. Karp is staying at the firm.
“In response to the Epstein emails, a Paul Weiss spokesman previously said, “Mr. Karp never witnessed or participated in any misconduct. Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets.””
Karp said he was leaving the chairman’s post because of the distraction of the news stories.
In November, after a congressional committee released emails between Ruemmler and Epstein, Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto told CNBC, “These emails were private correspondence well before Kathy Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs.
“Kathy is an exceptional general counsel and we benefit from her judgment every day,” Fratto said at the time.
Ruemmler has previously told the Journal that she regrets ever knowing Epstein.
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