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Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathy Ruemmler said she will resign this summer after documents released by the US Department of Justice revealed the extent of her ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Ruemmler told the FT that she would exit the Wall Street firm on June 30, saying: “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction.”
Her decision comes after documents showed she held extensive discussions with Epstein between 2014 and 2019, long after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor. Ruemmler joined Goldman in 2020.
Goldman chief executive David Solomon has stood by Ruemmler since her close association with Epstein first emerged in 2023. He said in a statement on Thursday that she “will be missed”.
“Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm,” he said.
Ruemmler’s departure from Goldman represents one of the most high-profile corporate downfalls from the sweeping disclosures of Epstein’s emails, which have reverberated from Wall Street to Westminster.
Brad Karp stepped down last week as chair of US law firm Paul Weiss after revelations about his relationship with Epstein.
Disclosures from the justice department show that Ruemmler had referenced Epstein’s “Russians” in email communications about a potential job opportunity before she joined Goldman. In a separate exchange, Ruemmler forwarded to Epstein emails about an affair she had with one of his close associates.
Epstein also lavished gifts on Ruemmler including a Hermès bag, Apple products, spa appointments, haircuts and plane tickets. “Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey boots, handbag, and watch!” she wrote in one email in January 2019.
Ruemmler has said she regretted ever knowing Epstein and that she had no knowledge of his criminal activities. On Thursday she said: “I made decisions based on the information that was available to me. I have an enormous amount of sympathy and heartache for anyone who he hurt.”
Recent disclosures showing the extent of Ruemmler’s contacts with Epstein have triggered growing frustration at the Wall Street firm, according to several current and former executives.
Some members of Goldman’s board had also privately expressed concerns that Solomon’s backing for Ruemmler could damage the bank’s reputation.
“It’s a distraction and it’s embarrassing,” said one person close to a Goldman board member prior to Ruemmler’s resignation. “It’s not the board’s job to hire and fire people. That is the CEO’s role.”
Several former Goldman executives who form part of the bank’s influential alumni network had also expressed disbelief at the way it has handled the Ruemmler affair.
Five former partners said they were surprised Solomon had chosen to stand by Ruemmler rather than create distance between the company and the controversy. Several former executives described feeling “deep embarrassment”, “crushed” and “profoundly disappointed” by the episode.
Before her association with Epstein became public, Ruemmler had a reputation inside Goldman as a well-liked, tight-lipped and accomplished lawyer.
Ruemmler, a former White House counsel in Barack Obama’s administration, was among the bank’s top executives and held senior positions on internal reputational risk and conduct committees. She was an attorney at Latham & Watkins during the time she was in contact with Epstein.
Goldman and Ruemmler previously characterised her relationship with Epstein as a “professional” one that involved using her ties to him for business development purposes.