Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, has resigned after emails revealed her close relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whom she called 'Uncle Jeffrey'. The resignation was announced on Thursday, with Ruemmler stating she would step down as chief legal officer and general counsel at the end of June.
Ruemmler said the media attention on her prior work as a defence attorney for Epstein had become a distraction. This marks a reversal from her earlier stance, when she insisted she would not resign. A Goldman Sachs spokesperson previously stressed that she 'regrets ever knowing him'.
The emails, released as part of the latest tranche of Epstein files by the US Department of Justice, showed Ruemmler had extensive communications with Epstein from 2014 to 2019, including after his 2008 guilty plea for procuring a minor for prostitution. She advised him on responding to media inquiries and received expensive gifts, such as luxury handbags and a fur coat.
In a 2018 email, Ruemmler wrote to Epstein: 'So lovely and thoughtful! Thank you to Uncle Jeffrey!!!' Wall Street frowns on such gift-giving due to potential conflicts of interest, and Goldman Sachs requires pre-approval for gifts from clients.
Epstein called Ruemmler when he was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges. He later died in prison. Goldman CEO David Solomon accepted Ruemmler's resignation, calling her an 'excellent lawyer' and saying she would be missed.
