Goldman Sachs' top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler resigned Thursday night after her name appeared in Epstein files documents the Department of Justice recently released.
The big picture: The ex-White House counsel to former President Obama and co-chair of Goldman's reputational risk committee is the latest high-profile figure to resign or be ousted following the DOJ's Jan. 30 release of 3 million documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
State of play: Her resignation announcement that's effective June 30 follows the release of files showing emails spanning several years from a "Kathy Ruemmler" who referred to the disgraced late financier as "uncle Jeffrey."
- The Kathy Ruemmler in the files in a 2018 email thanks him for a "lovely and thoughtful" gift and in a January 2019 email says, "Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey boots, handbag, and w=tch!"
- In an apparent reference to news reports on these emails, Ruemmler said in a Thursday interview with the Financial Times that first announced her departure from Goldman: "I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction."
What they're saying: Ruemmler said in an emailed statement Thursday night that her "responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs' interests first" and she had "regretfully" notified Goldman CEO David Solomon that she intended to "step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel" of the Wall Street bank.
- "Since I joined Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm's legal, reputational, and regulatory matters; to enhance our strong risk management processes; and to ensure that we live by our core value of integrity in everything we do," she said.
Solomon praised Ruemmler for being an "extraordinary general counsel" throughout her tenure at Goldman, per an emailed statement Thursday night.
- Goldman is "grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm," he added.
- "As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed. I accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision."
Zoom out: Jennifer Connelly, a spokesperson for Ruemmler, told CNN after the emails were reported that the senior lawyer "has done nothing wrong," has "nothing to hide" and nothing in the record "suggests otherwise."
- Ruemmler "has been clear and consistent from the outset: she knew him through her work as a criminal defense attorney, shared a client with him, received referrals from him, and was friendly in that professional context," Connelly added.
More from Axios:
- Inside Epstein's efforts to influence global elites
- Europe confronts Epstein shame amid muted U.S. reckoning
- Congress erupts over Trump admin "spying" on Epstein file searches
- Why Congress gets to see unredacted Epstein files and how they'll read them
Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.
Emily Peck contributed reporting.
