Goldman Sachs stands by high lawyer Kathy Ruemmler after her emails with Jeffrey Epstein uncovered


Kathy Ruemmler, former White Home Counsel, seems on “Meet the Press” in Washington, D.C., Sunday, June 29, 2014.

William B. Plowman | NBC Newswire | NBCUniversal | Getty Photos

Goldman Sachs on Thursday strongly backed its high lawyer, Kathy Ruemmler, a day after a congressional committee launched her chummy emails with infamous intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein earlier than she joined the funding financial institution.

These emails function Ruemmler, who served as White Home counsel to former President Barack Obama, and Epstein exchanging ideas about President Donald Trump, former President Invoice Clinton, Fb founder Mark Zuckerberg, and chubby freeway relaxation cease patrons.

“See you at 2, I ordered sushi for you,” Epstein wrote Ruemmler in March 2018 as a part of an e-mail thread that started with him sending her a Each day Beast article headlined, “How shut is Donald Trump to a psychiatric breakdown?”

These emails happened 17 months earlier than Epstein’s arrest on federal little one intercourse trafficking costs. He killed himself weeks after that arrest in a Manhattan jail.

Ruemmler is Goldman’s chief authorized officer and normal counsel.

Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto, in a press release to CNBC, stated, “These emails have been personal correspondence effectively earlier than Kathy Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs.”

“Kathy is an distinctive normal counsel and we profit from her judgment daily,” Fratto stated.

Ruemmler didn’t reply to requests for remark about her emails with Epstein on Thursday.

In 2023, Ruemmler informed The Wall Avenue Journal, “I remorse ever realizing Jeffrey Epstein.”

Ruemmler, who served as Obama’s White Home normal counsel and as a federal prosecutor, exchanged emails with Epstein whereas she was a accomplice with the regulation agency Latham & Watkins, the place she was world chair of the white-collar protection and investigations apply.

The Journal in 2023 reported that Ruemmler “had dozens of conferences with Epstein within the years after her White Home service and earlier than she grew to become a high lawyer at Goldman Sachs ... in 2020.”

“He additionally deliberate for her to hitch a 2015 journey to Paris and a 2017 go to to Epstein’s personal island within the Caribbean,” the Journal reported then. The newspaper, citing a Goldman Sachs spokesman, reported that Epstein launched her to potential authorized shoppers, together with Invoice Gates, the founding father of Microsoft.

Goldman has beforehand stated that Ruemmler had knowledgeable relationship with Epstein related to her position at Latham, however Latham additionally has stated he was not a shopper of that agency.

Her missives with Epstein, which the Home Oversight Committee launched on Wednesday, have been exchanged years after Epstein pleaded responsible in 2008 in a Florida state court docket to prostitution costs involving an underage lady.

Epstein served 13 months in jail in that case and needed to register as a intercourse offender.

“Trump resides proof of the adage that it’s higher to be fortunate than sensible,” Ruemmler wrote Epstein on Aug. 26, 2015, in keeping with the e-mail thread acquired by Home Oversight from Epstein’s property pursuant to a subpoena.

Epstein, who beforehand had been a long-time buddy of Trump’s, replied, “unwell offer you particulars once I see you. when are you in ny?”

Ruemmler replied by saying she was going to New York two days later, and was contemplating driving there.

“I’ll cease to pee and get fuel at a relaxation cease on the New Jersey turnpike, will observe the entire individuals there who’re at the least 100 kilos chubby, could have a light panic assault on account of the statement, and can then determine that I’m not consuming one other chunk of meals for the remainder of my life out of concern that I’ll find yourself like considered one of these individuals,” Ruemmler wrote.

Months later, in January 2016, Epstein emailed Ruemmler, saying, “I ended speaking to [Bill] Clinton when he swore, with entire hearted conviction to me, that he had completed one thing. , he had forgotten that he additionally swore the precise reverse to me solely weeks earlier than.”

On July 14, 2016, Epstein writes Ruemmler: “fairly black gown. you and ruth ginsburg.”

Ruemmler replied lower than 20 minutes later: “I like that gown … narciso Rodriguez. The place did you see that image? RBG [the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg] was my date to state dinner.”

Learn extra CNBC politics protection

Epstein replied that the photograph was on “each information channel in the present day,” as a result of Ginsburg had apologized for feedback she made to The Instances about Trump, through which she stated, “I am unable to think about what the nation can be — with Donald Trump as our president” and that her late husband would have stated it was “time for us to maneuver to New Zealand.”

“Yikes,” Ruemmler wrote.

The next day, Epstein wrote a single phrase, “in the present day,” to Ruemmler.

She replied, “that is a broad query,” and he shot again, “I now not use phrases like ‘broad,’ ” with a “frown” emoji following that.

A 12 months later, when Ginsburg’s fears had been realized and Trump had been elected president, Ruemmler, on July 20, 2017, wrote, “Trump is actually silly.”

“Duh,” Epstein replied the next day.

Ruemmler earlier that very same 12 months stated in an e-mail to Epstein that Trump was “so gross.”

Epstein replied, “Worse in actual life and upclose.”

In August 2018, Ruemmler emailed Epstein a hyperlink to a New York Instances op-ed that stated there was a case to be made for impeaching Trump, in reference to hush cash funds others made to 2 ladies to maintain them quiet about their alleged sexual trysts with him earlier than the 2016 election. Trump denies having intercourse with the ladies: porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy mannequin Karen McDougal.

These funds have been made and facilitated by Trump’s then-personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors of their investigation of Trump.

“You see, i understand how soiled donald is,” Epstein wrote in that thread. “my guess is that non-lawyers ny biz individuals do not know. what it means to have your fixer flip.”

In a thread earlier that 12 months, Epstein appeared to have forwarded a message from former Trump White Home advisor Steve Bannon, who wrote, “do you assume Invoice Clinton want to be part of you me chud and steve? may very well be very humorous, all off the file.”

Ruemmler replied, “Whereas he would possibly wish to, his lawyer would advise him in opposition to it. :-).”

In the identical thread, Ruemmler wrote, “Barf,” after Epstein stated that an unnamed girl was saying {that a} man named Ben was “giving her a really onerous time” by asking her “to do spouse like issues.”

In June 2018, Epstein, in an e-mail to Ruemmler, talked about Fb and its founder, Zuckerberg.

“I believed you would possibly like to take a look at the current web and privateness opinions and pose some open inquiries to be mentioned,” Epstein wrote. “mark needs to carry the web to the remainder of the world … and healthcare … his spouse is good however boring .. what do you see because the challenges .. what does he or she see. social.”

— CNBC’s Ashlee Trujillo, Caleigh Keating and MC Wellons contributed to this story