Washington (United States) (AFP) – The legal director of Goldman Sachs will leave her post, the bank confirmed Thursday, after her friendship with sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein was highlighted in documents released by the US Department of Justice.
Published on: 02/13/2026 - 07:37
The bank specified that the departure of the person concerned, Kathryn Ruemmler, who had been the financier's lawyer, will be effective from June 30.
In a statement sent to the Financial Times, Kathryn Ruemmler explained her resignation by her desire to avoid "the media attention brought to me, due to my former position as a private lawyer", from harming the bank.
The group's CEO, David Solomon, said in a press release that he respected her decision and thanked Ms. Ruemmler for "the quality of her legal advice on important matters for our bank."
Kathryn Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs in 2020 from the law firm Latham & Watkins.
The relationship between Epstein and Ms Ruemmler had been known since the publication of an initial set of documents relating to the affair several months ago. Goldman Sachs had until now always shown its support for its legal director.
The press, however, deemed his departure inevitable after the new burst of publications.
The new documents revealed by the Department of Justice notably reveal numerous email exchanges between Ms. Ruemmler and Epstein, whom the person sometimes nicknamed “Uncle Jeffrey”.
The two continued their friendly relationship until shortly before the sex criminal's death in prison in 2019, well after the financier's first conviction in 2008 for soliciting an underage prostitute.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Kathryn Ruemmler was one of three people that Jeffrey Epstein called following his arrest in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
At the time, Ms. Ruemmler was an attorney for Latham & Watkins, a leading firm specializing in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and securities law.
Under Barack Obama, she held several important positions at the Department of Justice between 2009 and 2011 before joining the White House as legal advisor until June 2014.
© 2026 AFP
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