Kathryn “Kathy” Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs’ chief legal officer and general counsel and a former White House counsel under President Barack Obama, said she will step down effective June 30, 2026, after newly released Justice Department files showed years of friendly email exchanges with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Kathryn “Kathy” Ruemmler said she will step down as chief legal officer and general counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026, after news coverage intensified over her past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, according to statements reported by the Associated Press and CBS News.
Ruemmler previously served as White House counsel to President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2014. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2020, and in her resignation statement said she had helped oversee the firm’s legal, reputational and regulatory matters and that her responsibility was to put the bank’s interests first, the AP reported.
The resignation follows the public release of emails included in Justice Department files that show Ruemmler and Epstein—who pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to soliciting prostitution involving a minor and was later arrested again in 2019—exchanged messages from 2014 to 2019, the AP said.
Several of the messages carried a personal tone. In one email dated Jan. 4, 2019, Ruemmler wrote: “Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey boots, handbag, and w=tch!” according to an email reproduced by The Daily Wire and referenced by Axios.
Other emails cited by The Daily Wire include a Dec. 31, 2015 message sent from a Swiss Air first-class lounge in which Ruemmler thanked Epstein for his friendship and signed off “Xo,” and a Jan. 20, 2015 birthday note that read: “Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy the day with your one true love.” In another December 2015 email to Epstein’s assistant, Ruemmler wrote: “Well, I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!”
The Daily Wire also reported that in a Jan. 17, 2017 email, Ruemmler asked about the logistics of visiting Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, writing: “Our flight Sunday back to NY is from St Luci=. Can we take a day trip to the island on Sat or is it too far?”
In comments to The Daily Wire, Ruemmler’s spokeswoman, Jami Schlicher, described the relationship as professional and said Ruemmler knew Epstein in the context of criminal defense work, including sharing a client and receiving referrals. Schlicher also said Ruemmler has sympathy for those harmed by Epstein and that she would not have dealt with him had she known then what became known later.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon accepted Ruemmler’s resignation and praised her work. In a statement quoted by the AP, Solomon called her “one of the most accomplished professionals in her field,” said she had been a mentor and friend to many employees, and added that “she will be missed.”
