Jared Evan

(TJV NEWS) Kathryn Ruemmler — who previously served as White House counsel under President Barack Obama — will step down from her role as Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer at the end of June, following intensified media scrutiny over her past communications with Jeffrey Epstein, as CNBC reported.

Ruemmler, who was White House counsel under Obama before entering the private sector, has served as general counsel and chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs since 2020. She has also been a close adviser to CEO David Solomon.

Her decision comes after a series of reports highlighting emails and documents detailing her past interactions with Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

According to CNBC, Goldman Sachs had defended Ruemmler for months after Congress and the Department of Justice released emails between her and Epstein as part of broader document disclosures related to investigations into him.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Ruemmler said she concluded that the attention surrounding her prior legal work had become disruptive. “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction,” she said, according to CNBC.

Ruemmler — who notably served as White House counsel under Obama before returning to private practice — formally notified Solomon that she would resign effective June 30, 2026. In a statement to CNBC, she said it had been a privilege to oversee Goldman’s legal, regulatory, and reputational matters and emphasized that her responsibility was to put the firm’s interests first.

Solomon praised Ruemmler in remarks on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” describing her as “a tremendous human being” and an accomplished professional. He said she informed him that the volume of press coverage had reached a point where it was interfering with her ability to effectively carry out her duties.

In a separate statement cited by CNBC, Solomon thanked Ruemmler for her guidance on major legal matters and said he respected her decision to step down.

The controversy surrounding Ruemmler — who first rose to national prominence as White House counsel under Obama — intensified after The Wall Street Journal reported that Epstein had attempted to contact her shortly after his July 2019 arrest on federal child sex trafficking charges in New Jersey. The Journal cited handwritten law enforcement notes documenting comments Epstein allegedly made while inside an FBI vehicle.

Additional documents released by the Justice Department in January included emails and other materials referencing gifts Epstein had given Ruemmler during the years they were in contact. CNBC reported that those items allegedly included luxury goods such as a Hermès handbag, a Fendi purse, spa visits, Bergdorf Goodman gift cards, and flowers. In one email referenced in media accounts, she reportedly thanked him warmly and referred to him as “Uncle Jeffrey.”

At the time of her communications with Epstein, Ruemmler was a white-collar criminal defense attorney at Latham & Watkins. She met Epstein in 2014. One email from August 2014, included in the Justice Department’s released files, showed Epstein asking her to represent Bank Edmond de Rothschild, writing that the institution had a Justice Department issue “like every other Swiss bank.”

Ruemmler took the bank on as a client while at Latham & Watkins. She has maintained that she never represented Epstein himself.

Epstein later died by alleged suicide in a New York federal jail weeks after his 2019 arrest.

Ruemmler’s departure marks a significant leadership change at Goldman Sachs, where she has played a central role in navigating legal and reputational challenges. Her tenure at the bank followed her high-profile service as White House counsel under Obama, a position that made her one of the most senior legal advisers in the federal government before transitioning back to private practice and ultimately into the financial sector.