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The highest lawyer at Goldman Sachs, Kathy Ruemmler, mentioned Thursday that she would depart the distinguished Wall Road agency amid controversy over her e mail correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, which the Justice Division disclosed in current weeks.
In an interview with The Monetary Instances, Ruemmler mentioned: “I made the willpower that the media consideration on me, regarding my prior work as a defence legal professional, was changing into a distraction.”
Serving as an in depth adviser to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Ruemmler has drawn intense scrutiny for weeks because the Justice Division dumped thousands and thousands of pages of recordsdata associated to Epstein, the convicted intercourse trafficker.
“All through her tenure, Kathy has been a rare basic counsel, and we’re grateful for her contributions and sound recommendation on a variety of consequential authorized issues for the agency,” Solomon mentioned in an announcement. “As one of the achieved professionals in her subject, Kathy has additionally been a mentor and pal to lots of our individuals, and she or he shall be missed. I accepted her resignation, and I respect her determination.”
Ruemmler was White Home counsel within the Obama administration.
Within the emails, Ruemmler exchanged dozens of pleasant notes with Epstein for years, together with after he was convicted.
In 2015, Epstein requested authorized recommendation in a single e mail alternate.
“Effectively, I am keen on him. It is like having one other older brother!” Ruemmler wrote of Epstein in one other e mail.
“Verify for Hermes bag for Kathy!” Epstein’s longtime assistant wrote in one other e mail in 2016, referring to Ruemmler. Different emails present Ruemmler calling Epstein “sweetie” and thanking “Uncle Jeffrey.”
Ruemmler was additionally, at one level, listed as a backup executor on Epstein’s will, though she by no means served any executor function. Her identify was eliminated earlier than Epstein died. She has maintained that she was pleasant with Epstein solely within the context of being a felony protection legal professional and has mentioned she regrets ever having identified him.
On Friday, a spokeswoman for Ruemmler advised The Wall Road Journal: “These paperwork are in keeping with what Ms. Ruemmler has repeatedly mentioned: She knew Epstein when she was a felony protection legal professional and shared a consumer with him.”
The Journal additionally reported final week that after Epstein was arrested in 2019, one of many first individuals he referred to as was Ruemmler.
Regardless of the scrutiny, Goldman Sachs and Solomon stood by Ruemmler. Goldman has mentioned she disclosed her previous dealings with Epstein when she was employed in 2020.
Ruemmler is the most recent in a wave of high-profile individuals leaving key enterprise and authorities roles due to the Epstein recordsdata.
On Feb. 4, Brad Karp, the chairman of the regulation agency Paul Weiss, stepped again from that place. He, too, had exchanged many emails with Epstein over a number of years.
On Sunday, Morgan McSweeney, chief of employees to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, resigned due to the fallout from his having really helpful that Starmer appoint Peter Mandelson because the U.Okay. ambassador to the USA. Mandelson seems repeatedly within the Epstein recordsdata.
Mandelson himself was fired because the U.Okay. envoy to the U.S. in September over Epstein-related revelations.
Laura Strickler and Justin Goldman contributed.
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