Kathryn Ruemmler, who served as White House counsel under President Barack Obama, testified on Wednesday morning before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform regarding her connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The closed-door interview is part of the panel's investigation into Epstein's activities.
Background and Scrutiny
Ruemmler came under scrutiny earlier this year after her name appeared thousands of times in records related to Epstein released by the Justice Department under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. She announced in February that she would resign from her role as chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, effective June 30. However, reports from the Financial Times and Bloomberg in June indicated that she agreed to continue at Goldman Sachs in an advisory role after CEO David Solomon requested her to remain.
Emails and Gifts
Emails between Ruemmler and Epstein, exchanged between 2014 and 2019—years after Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state prostitution charges, including procuring a minor—revealed that Ruemmler accepted luxury gifts from Epstein, addressed him as “Uncle Jeffrey” and “sweetie,” and advised him on how to respond to questions about his sex crimes. According to the Wall Street Journal, a document showed she was at one point listed as a backup executor of his will. In one 2015 email, Ruemmler wrote to Epstein: “friendships goes two ways -- getti+g you some peace with respect to all of this legal shit is important to me.”
Ruemmler's Testimony
In her prepared opening statement, Ruemmler insisted she never saw any “evidence of ongoing criminal conduct or misconduct of any kind by Epstein during the time I dealt with him.” She stated that if she had seen or heard “any evidence suggesting that he was abusing women or girls, I would have immediately reported him to law enforcement.” Ruemmler told lawmakers she first met Epstein in 2014 when she was restarting her legal practice after government service. Epstein cold-called her, claiming he was working with Bill Gates to set up a large donor-advised fund and needed legal help. The fund did not materialize, but Epstein later referred another important client to her, whom she represented until 2020.
Ruemmler acknowledged being “friendly” with Epstein and dealing with him casually. She said, “If I knew then what I know now about who Epstein really was, I never would have accepted an initial meeting with him.” She added that many of her emails with Epstein have been “taken out of context or do not mean what some have speculated or suggested.” She accepted gifts from him because she “saw no reason not to.”
Reactions and Criticism
Despite her resignation announcement, Goldman Sachs faced criticism from lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi. They sent a letter to CEO David Solomon in June requesting information about the decision to retain Ruemmler as an adviser, asking what she had disclosed about her relationship with Epstein before joining the firm. The lawmakers noted that the released documents “suggested that Ruemmler maintained a far more extensive relationship with Epstein than she previously publicly acknowledged.” Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Ruemmler concluded her remarks by describing Epstein as “a masterful liar” and saying, “He clearly lied to me. I can see now that he used me and other respectable people to legitimize his standing... I understand how frustrating and hurtful it must have been for anyone victimized by Epstein to see him going about his life without facing the type of accountability and consequences that he deserved. I am angry that he hurt so many people, and I regret ever having anything to do with him.”
