NEW YORK (AP) — Kathy Rummler, top lawyer at legendary investment bank Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation Thursday after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein revealed a close relationship in which she called him her “brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.
Rümmler said in a statement that she would “resign from her position as Goldman Sachs’ chief legal officer and general counsel effective June 30, 2026.”
Before resigning, Rummler had repeatedly tried to distance himself from the emails and other correspondence and insisted he would not step down from Goldman’s top legal job, which he had held since 2020.
While Rummler has called Epstein a “monster” in recent statements, she had a very different relationship with Epstein before he was arrested for a second time on sex crimes in 2019 and later committed suicide in a Manhattan jail. Rumler called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she admired him.
In a statement before his resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokesman said Rumler “regrets knowing him.”
“Since joining Goldman Sachs six years ago, I have been honored to help oversee the firm’s legal, reputational and regulatory affairs; strengthen our strong risk management processes; and ensure we uphold our core value of integrity in everything we do,” Rümmler said in a statement Thursday. “My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first.”
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in a separate statement: “As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy was also a mentor and friend to many of us, and she will be missed. I accept her resignation and respect her decision.”
After leaving the White House in 2014, while working in private practice, Rümmler received several expensive gifts from Epstein, including luxury handbags and a fur coat. The gifts were given after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and registered as a sex offender.
“So sweet and thoughtful! Thank you Uncle Jeffrey!!!” Rumler wrote to Epstein in 2018.
Historically, Wall Street has frowned upon gifts between clients and bankers or Wall Street lawyers, especially high-end gifts that could create a conflict of interest. According to the company’s code of conduct, Goldman Sachs requires employees to obtain pre-approval before accepting or giving gifts to clients, in part so as not to violate anti-bribery laws.
As of December, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon described Rumler as an “outstanding lawyer” and said she had his full trust and support.
