Kathryn Ruemmler Testifies on Epstein Ties in Closed House Session

Kathryn Ruemmler testified July 15 in a closed-door session before the House Oversight Committee about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The former Goldman Sachs general counsel said Epstein was a masterful liar who used her and others to legitimize his standing. Ruemmler told the panel she never represented Epstein as an attorney but provided him legal and public relations advice.

She said she was aware of his 2008 guilty plea to prostitution-related charges and trusted the plea deal resolved his criminal conduct. One of Epstein's first phone calls after his July 6, 2019 arrest was to Ruemmler, according to ABC News. In prepared remarks, Ruemmler stated she never saw evidence of ongoing criminal conduct by Epstein and would have reported any such evidence.

She said she was shocked by the 2019 indictment and cut ties with him at that time. "If I knew then what I know now about who Epstein really was, I never would have accepted an initial meeting with him," she said. Department of Justice files released earlier this year showed emails from 2014 to 2019 in which Ruemmler referred to Epstein as "Uncle Jeffrey" and compared him to an older brother.

In one February 2015 email she wrote "Victim's rights, my ass" regarding a case under the Crime Victims' Rights Act. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters during a break that he found it difficult to see how Ruemmler was being completely truthful.

He said she continued to interact with Epstein after knowing of his conviction and made jokes about massages. Ruemmler served as White House counsel to President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2014. She announced her resignation from Goldman Sachs in February 2026 and remains at the firm in an advisory capacity.

She is the 17th person to testify in the committee's Epstein investigation. Billionaire Leon Black is scheduled for a formal deposition on September 3.