Former White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, who also served as general counsel for Goldman Sachs, faced sharp criticism from the family of late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre after newly released transcripts showed she questioned Giuffre’s credibility during a House committee hearing. The transcripts, made public on Wednesday, reveal that Ruemmler told the House Oversight Committee that some of Giuffre’s allegations “lacked inherent credibility.”
Ruemmler’s testimony under scrutiny
During the hearing earlier this month, Ruemmler was asked whether she believed Giuffre was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. “I don’t know,” she responded, according to the transcript. She added, “If she says that she was, I don’t have a reason to doubt that. However, there were allegations that she made that were, I believed based on my experience as a former prosecutor and as a defense counsel, that were of such a nature that they were – they lacked inherent credibility.”
Ruemmler specifically cited Giuffre’s claims of being trafficked to multiple world leaders and foreign presidents, saying such assertions were not typical in sex trafficking cases. “Typically, when someone says, I was sex trafficked to someone, they say who, when, where, not multiple world leaders, multiple foreign presidents,” she said.
Family condemns remarks
Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law, Sky and Amanda Roberts, condemned Ruemmler’s statements. “She should be ashamed of herself,” they told CNN. In a statement, they said it was “reprehensible” to “attempt to cast doubt on Virginia, whose bravery was the reason so many other survivors stepped forward, resulting in more than 50 people having to step down from their positions of power.” They added, “The only person who lacks credibility is Kathy Ruemmler.”
Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, died by suicide in April 2025. She had previously testified that Epstein and Maxwell abused her as a teenager and trafficked her to powerful men, including Prince Andrew, who has denied the allegations.
Epstein files reveal ties
Ruemmler’s name appeared thousands of times in records released earlier this year under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The files showed she accepted gifts from Epstein, addressed him as “Uncle Jeffrey” and “sweetie” in emails, and offered informal advice on responding to questions about his sex crimes. At one point, she was listed as a backup executor of his will, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Ruemmler told lawmakers she had a professional relationship with Epstein and that he “used” her “to legitimize his standing.” She insisted she never saw any evidence of ongoing criminal conduct and that many of her emails were “taken out of context.”
Reactions from representatives
Jennifer Connelly, a spokesperson for Ruemmler, said in a statement: “As Ms Ruemmler told the committee, she had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity by Epstein and there is not a shred of evidence to suggest otherwise.” She added, “Ms Ruemmler would never turn a blind eye to any criminal activity and if she had seen or heard anything to suggest that Epstein was harming women or girls, she would have taken action to stop it.”
Another representative said Ruemmler was “expressing skepticism regarding particular claims that had not been substantiated, not every allegation Ms Giuffre ever made.”
Ruemmler announced in February that she would resign from her role as chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs. The transcript release comes amid ongoing congressional investigations into Epstein’s network and potential enablers.
