QUICK ANSWER — What’s happening?
Kathy Ruemmler, general counsel of Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to Barack Obama, will resign effective 30 June 2026 after newly released Department of Justice records revealed years of extensive personal contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Emails show she referred to him as “Uncle Jeffrey,” accepted luxury gifts, and was among the first people he contacted following his 2019 arrest. Her exit marks the second major corporate resignation in a week linked to the expanding Epstein document disclosures.
Goldman Sachs’ most senior lawyer is leaving under a cloud that proved impossible to outlast.
Ruemmler announced Thursday night that she would step down after a steady drip of Justice Department releases exposed the depth and familiarity of her relationship with Epstein. Her departure ends a tenure that began in 2020 — one the bank’s leadership had repeatedly defended even as fresh revelations mounted.
In a brief statement, Ruemmler said the scrutiny surrounding her past legal work had become “a distraction.” CEO David Solomon thanked her for her service, calling her “an extraordinary general counsel.”
But the record now public tells a far more complicated story.
From White House Counsel to “Uncle Jeffrey”
After serving in the Obama administration, Ruemmler moved into private practice in 2014. It was during that period — years after Epstein had already pleaded guilty to state charges involving a minor and registered as a sex offender — that their communications intensified.
DOJ emails show regular contact between 2014 and 2019. In several exchanges she described Epstein warmly, at one point likening him to an older brother. In a 2018 message thanking him for high-end gifts that included designer handbags and a fur coat, she wrote: “So lovely and thoughtful! Thank you to Uncle Jeffrey!!!”
The gifts raise clear compliance questions. Goldman’s own code requires disclosure and preapproval for items of significant value from business contacts to prevent conflicts of interest. Although the correspondence predates her joining the bank, such relationships would typically surface during executive vetting.
The most damaging detail may be timing: according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Ruemmler was one of only three people Epstein phoned immediately after his July 2019 federal arrest. That revelation appears to have sealed her fate.
A Defence That Couldn’t Hold
Goldman initially stood firm.
When her association first surfaced publicly in 2023, the bank described the emails as private correspondence that occurred before her employment and reaffirmed its confidence in her leadership. That stance survived early disclosures, congressional reviews, and months of criticism.
What it could not survive was the sheer weight of documentation.
The latest DOJ releases painted not a distant professional connection but an ongoing, personal relationship. For a firm still sensitive to reputational risk, continuing to defend its top legal officer became untenable.
Part of a Broader Reckoning
Ruemmler’s resignation is not an isolated case — it is part of a widening pattern.
Last week, Brad Karp stepped down as chairman of Paul Weiss after emails showed years of contact with Epstein, including assistance on legal matters. He remains at the firm as a partner.
Elsewhere, Whitney Museum of American Art board member David Ross resigned from a leadership role at the School of Visual Arts after correspondence surfaced dating back to Epstein’s incarceration. Other exchanges referenced requests tied to film projects connected to Woody Allen.
Across cases, the pattern is similar: sustained relationships maintained after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, initially minimized, then rendered indefensible as documentation accumulates.
A Governance Wake-Up Call
The episode raises uncomfortable questions for boardrooms on both sides of the Atlantic: how deeply should companies examine the personal associations of senior executives?
Goldman hired Ruemmler two years after Epstein’s federal arrest and one year after his death. Background checks would have been standard. Yet the full extent of her connection either failed to surface or was not judged material at the time — neither explanation reflects well on corporate due diligence.
With millions of pages of Epstein-related files still being released, more names may emerge. For global firms, reputational risk is no longer hypothetical or slow-moving; it can crystallise overnight.
Ruemmler’s exit removes a growing liability from Goldman’s leadership bench. But it also underscores a harder reality for Wall Street: once the documentary trail becomes public, even the most powerful institutions cannot simply ride out the storm.
