Kathy Ruemmler is singing a tune of deep regret. The former Obama White House counsel now admits she screwed up by rubbing shoulders with Jeffrey Epstein. She claims she was duped.
“If I knew then what I know now, I never would have met with him,” Ruemmler told House investigators in a closed-door session. It is the classic defense of the elite caught in the blast radius of a monster. She insists the public assumption that everyone around Epstein knew about his horrific crimes is flatly wrong.
Capitol Hill came calling anyway. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee dragged her in for a voluntary interview. They wanted to know why a high-powered attorney was helping a convicted predator manage his reputation. CNN previously exposed how Ruemmler acted as an informal adviser, helping Epstein dodge legal landmines in his final years.
She downplayed the relationship. She wasn’t his lawyer, she claims. Just a friend giving casual, sometimes “irreverent” advice.
They met in 2014. By then, Epstein was already a registered sex offender. Ruemmler says she asked him about his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. Epstein lied. He told her he thought the girls were of age and expressed deep remorse. Ruemmler bought it. Or, at least, she didn’t ask too many questions. After all, Epstein was still surrounded by academics, politicians, and business titans. In her line of work, dealing with dirty people was just another Tuesday.
She called him a “masterful liar.” She saw no evil. Had she seen any, she claims, she would have dialed 911 immediately.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle aren’t entirely buying the naive routine. Committee Chair James Comer pointed out that Ruemmler’s image-rehabilitation work likely helped Epstein escape accountability. Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat, questioned her credibility. He called it “problematic” that Republicans let her testify without being under oath.
The fallout has already cost Ruemmler her gig. She announced her resignation as Goldman Sachs’ chief legal officer after the Justice Department dumped a mountain of Epstein documents.
Those documents paint a cozy picture. Emails show the pair exchanging friendly banter, planning trips, and signing off with “xo” and “xoxo.” Epstein even sent her gifts. Ruemmler now dismisses the presents as inconsequential.
Then there is the island. In 2017, Ruemmler emailed Epstein about taking a “day trip” to his private Caribbean retreat. Later, she joked about helping him clean up the property after a hurricane. Goldman Sachs claims she never actually set foot on the island.
Ruemmler left the White House in 2014 for private practice, where she claims Epstein was merely a “business referral source.” She was never paid by him, she says. Just another powerful person caught in the orbit of a predator, now wishing she could erase the tape.
