Kathryn Ruemmler

Kathryn Ruemmler served as White House counsel to President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2014 and later became chief legal officer and general counsel at Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s largest investment banks. In February 2026 she announced that she would step down from Goldman Sachs, effective June 30, 2026, after documents released from the Justice Department’s Epstein files revealed personal emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein, including messages in which she referred to him as “Uncle Jeffrey.” Ruemmler is not accused of any crime, and she has said she regrets ever knowing Epstein.

Background

Ruemmler holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and built a legal career in government before moving to the private sector. As a federal prosecutor, she was a co-lead prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Enron Task Force, where she helped lead the fraud prosecution of former Enron chief executives. President Obama announced her appointment as White House counsel on June 2, 2011; she had previously served as principal deputy counsel to the president.

After leaving the White House in 2014, Ruemmler returned to the law firm Latham & Watkins. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2020 and was named chief legal officer and general counsel in 2021 — one of the most senior legal positions on Wall Street — and served on the firm’s management committee.

The “Uncle Jeffrey” Emails

Documents released from the Justice Department’s Epstein files in early 2026 included emails between Ruemmler and Epstein. In correspondence after she left the White House in 2014, Ruemmler referred to Epstein in affectionate terms, calling him “Uncle Jeffrey.” In a 2018 message thanking him for a gift, she wrote: “So lovely and thoughtful! Thank you to Uncle Jeffrey!!!” According to reporting, she received expensive gifts from Epstein during this period, including luxury handbags and a fur coat.

The contact continued after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to state prostitution charges and his registration as a sex offender — a period during which many public figures distanced themselves from him. According to reporting on the released files, citing Epstein’s schedule, Ruemmler met with Epstein on dozens of occasions between July 2014 and May 2019, and maintained an email correspondence with him from 2014 to 2018. Reporting on the released files also indicates she was listed as a backup executor in a January 2019 version of Epstein’s will. Ruemmler’s representatives have said she knew Epstein through her work as a criminal defense attorney and was friendly with him in that professional context; she was reported to have denied that certain trips on his schedule, including a 2015 Paris flight and a 2017 stop at his U.S. Virgin Islands home, took place.

Departure from Goldman Sachs

In February 2026, Ruemmler announced that she would step down as chief legal officer and general counsel of Goldman Sachs, effective June 30, 2026. She said she would “step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026,” and, in an interview, attributed the decision to media attention: “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction.” Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon said in a statement, “I accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision.” A spokesperson said Ruemmler “regrets ever knowing” Epstein.

The announcement came after the public release of the emails. Reporting indicated Goldman Sachs moved to manage reputational risk after the “Uncle Jeffrey” emails became public; Ruemmler co-chaired the firm’s reputational risk committee.

Significance

Ruemmler’s planned departure was among several high-profile reactions to the Epstein file releases. Her case was notable for the intersection of the Epstein network with the highest levels of both government and Wall Street — a former White House counsel who became a top Goldman Sachs executive, with a personal relationship with a convicted sex offender that continued for years after his 2008 conviction.

The emails raised questions about how Epstein maintained relationships with powerful legal and financial figures even after his 2008 conviction. Ruemmler is not accused of any crime, and she has said she regrets ever knowing him.

Documents

Primary-source records that name or reference Kathryn Ruemmler. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Ruemmler is not accused of any crime, says she knew Epstein through her work as a defense attorney, and has said she regrets ever knowing him.

• DOJ Epstein Files (EFTA release) — Emails between Ruemmler and Epstein were among the records released from the Justice Department’s Epstein files in early 2026, including post-2014 correspondence in which she referred to him as “Uncle Jeffrey” and thanked him for gifts. As reported by Axios, Reuters, the New York Times and PBS NewsHour, the publication of these emails preceded her February 2026 announcement that she would step down as Goldman Sachs chief legal officer and general counsel, effective June 30, 2026.