Goldman Sachs's top lawyer quits over Epstein email controversy
Kathy Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs's top lawyer, has stepped down after an old email defending Jeffrey Epstein's 2008 plea deal became public.
In the 2019 message, Ruemmler argued that criticism of Epstein's deal showed a "fundamental misunderstanding" and described his crimes as "local offenses of sexual solicitation," despite public criticism reported in connection with the documents' release.
Ruemmler defended her email's content, saying it was taken out of context
Ruemmler's email has drawn fire for minimizing the federal investigation into Epstein, which involved child sex trafficking charges and FBI involvement.
A spokeswoman said she knew Epstein when she was a criminal defense attorney and shared a client with him, but Ruemmler says she didn't represent him.
Ruemmler later expressed regret about her connection to Epstein and maintains she didn't know about his crimes.
Ruemmler's career before Goldman
Before joining Goldman, Ruemmler was White House counsel under President Obama and worked as a white-collar defense attorney.
Goldman had praised her judgment before this controversy led to her exit.