NEW YORK (AP) — Kathy Ruemmler, a top lawyer at investment bank Goldman Sachs and a former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation Thursday, after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein revealed a close relationship where she described him as his “big brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.
Ruemmler said in a statement that she would step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026.
Until her resignation, Ruemmler repeatedly tried to distance herself from the emails and other correspondence and was challenged that she would not resign from Goldman’s top legal post, which she had held since 2020.
While Ruemmler has called Epstein a “monster” in recent statements, she had a much different relationship with Epstein before he was arrested a second time for sex crimes in 2019 and later killed himself in a Manhattan jail. Ruemmler called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she loved him.
In a statement before her resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman said that Ruemmler “regrets ever having known him.”
In her statement Thursday, Ruemmler said: “Since joining Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm’s legal, reputational and regulatory issues; to improve our strong risk management processes; and to ensure that we live by our core value of integrity in everything we do. My responsibility is to put the interests of Goldman Sachs first.”
Goldman CEO David Solomon said in a separate statement: “As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy was also a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed. I have accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision.”
During her time in private practice after leaving the White House in 2014, Ruemmler received several expensive gifts from Epstein, including luxury handbags and a fur coat. The gifts were given after Epstein was already convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and registered as a sex offender.
“So nice and thoughtful! Thank you Uncle Jeffrey!!!” Ruemmler wrote to Epstein in 2018.
Historically, Wall Street frowns on the giving of gifts between clients and bankers or Wall Street lawyers, particularly high-end gifts that may create a conflict of interest. Goldman Sachs requires its employees to obtain prior approval before receiving or giving gifts from clients, according to the company’s code of conduct, in part to avoid running afoul of anti-bribery laws.
As late as December, Goldman CEO David Solomon described Ruemmler as an “excellent lawyer” and said she had his full faith and support.