Goldman Sachs’ high lawyer to resign over shut ties to Epstein : NPR

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Charles Dharapak/AP NEW YORK — Kathy Ruemmler, the highest lawyer at storied funding financial institution Goldman Sachs and former White Home counsel to President Barack Obama, introduced her resignation Thursday, after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein confirmed a detailed relationship the place she described him as an "older brother" and downplayed his intercourse crimes.

Ruemmler mentioned in an announcement that she would "step down as Chief Authorized Officer and Normal Counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026."

Up till her resignation, Ruemmler repeatedly tried to distance herself from the emails and different correspondence and had been defiant that she wouldn't resign from Goldman's high authorized put up, which she had held since 2020.

Whereas Ruemmler has known as Epstein a "monster" in latest statements, she had a a lot completely different relationship with Epstein earlier than he was arrested a second time for intercourse crimes in 2019 and later killed himself in a Manhattan jail. Ruemmler known as Epstein "Uncle Jeffrey" in emails and mentioned she adored him.

In an announcement earlier than her resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson mentioned Ruemmler "regrets ever understanding him."

In her assertion Thursday, Ruemmler mentioned: "Since I joined Goldman Sachs six years in the past, it has been my privilege to assist oversee the agency's authorized, reputational, and regulatory issues; to reinforce our robust danger administration processes; and to make sure that we reside by our core worth of integrity in every part we do. My accountability is to place Goldman Sachs' pursuits first."

Goldman CEO David Solomonsaid in a separate assertion: "As probably the most completed professionals in her discipline, Kathy has additionally been a mentor and pal to a lot of our folks, and he or she will likely be missed. I accepted her resignation, and I respect her choice."

Throughout her time in non-public observe after she left the White Home in 2014, Ruemmler acquired a number of costly items from Epstein, together with luxurious purses and a fur coat. The items got after Epstein had already been convicted of intercourse crimes in 2008 and was registered as a intercourse offender.

"So pretty and considerate! Thanks to Uncle Jeffrey!!!" Ruemmler wrote to Epstein in 2018.

Traditionally, Wall Road frowns on gift-giving between shoppers and bankers or Wall Road attorneys, notably high-end items that might pose a battle of curiosity. Goldman Sachs requires its staff to get preapproval earlier than receiving or giving items from shoppers, in line with the corporate's code of conduct, partly with the intention to not run afoul of anti-bribery legal guidelines.