Journalism of Courage
Kathryn Ruemmler, the high-profile Democratic attorney who now serves as Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer, often turned to Jeffrey Epstein when she wanted to vent about Donald Trump’s political ascent, newly released emails show.
The exchanges span from 2014, shortly after Ruemmler left her job as White House Counsel under President Barack Obama, until June 2019, a month before Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges.
In August 2015, as she planned a visit to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, Ruemmler mocked Trump’s sudden rise. “Trump is living proof of the adage that it is better to be lucky than smart,” she wrote. As the 2016 campaign intensified, her alarm grew. “The Trump success is seriously scary,” she told Epstein in February 2016.
The correspondence published this week by the House Oversight Committee, reveals how frequently the two discussed national politics, including the 2016 election, Trump’s Cabinet picks and the early months of his presidency as well as Bill Clinton to Mark Zuckerberg and even casual observations about people at New Jersey Turnpike rest stops.
Ruemmler met Epstein while working at Latham & Watkins, and is now Chief Legal Officer at Goldman Sachs. The bank said her interactions with Epstein stemmed from a shared client he had referred. They were sent several years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor, and before his 2019 arrest on federal child sex trafficking charges, after which he died by suicide in a Manhattan jail.
Goldman Sachs on Thursday publicly backed its chief legal officer, Ruemmler. A spokesperson for the Wall Street firm said that the correspondence predated her 2020 move to the bank.
“Kathy is an exceptional general counsel and we benefit from her judgment every day,” he said, adding that the emails were part of her private communication long before she had any association with Goldman, CNBC reported.
The newly released emails deepen scrutiny of her past association with Epstein but do not allege wrongdoing. Goldman maintains she is a valued and trusted legal executive.
The emails reveal that Ruemmler, who was widely viewed as a legal star in the Democratic Party and was even floated as a possible Supreme Court pick, turned to Epstein frequently when she needed to vent about Trump.
In one 2015 exchange, she commented that Trump was “living proof that it is better to be lucky than smart,” while in later threads she called him “gross” and “truly stupid.” Epstein, once friendly with Trump himself, responded enthusiastically: “Duh.”
Later, Ruemmler expressed alarm about Trump’s climb in the polls. “The Trump success is seriously scary,” she wrote in February 2016.
In one exchange right after Trump’s election to White House, Ruemmler appeared to call some Trump appointees “moronic.” In others, she shared articles about Trump’s policies — from Big Tech to the Mueller investigation — and didn’t hide her disdain.
Other emails show Epstein forwarding gossip, political commentary, and even a remark about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s fashion from the state dinner where Ruemmler accompanied the late Supreme Court justice. Epstein also discussed topics like Facebook, privacy debates, and Mark Zuckerberg, casting himself as a connector among powerful figures.
The correspondence also makes it clear that the venting was not just one-sided. In one of the exchanges, the disgraced financier claimed to have severed ties with former president Bill Clinton because he believed Clinton had lied to him.
In a January 23, 2016 email, Epstein told Ruemmler, who had served as a lawyer in Bill Clinton’s White House, that he had cut off “Slick Willy” after Clinton allegedly contradicted himself on a matter Epstein considered important.
Despite Epstein’s claim of a rift, Clinton surfaces repeatedly in the trove. In April 2018, theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss pitched Epstein on a “men of the world conference” and listed Clinton among the proposed invitees, along with Kevin Spacey, Al Franken and Woody Allen.
As per CNBC, Clinton’s spokesperson dismissed the suggestion, saying the former president “knew nothing about Epstein’s heinous crimes and hadn’t spoken to him in twenty years,” adding that the emails merely confirmed that distance.
Clinton and Epstein’s relationship stretches back to the early 1990s, when Epstein donated to Clinton’s presidential bid and later to Hillary Clinton’s 1999 Senate campaign. Visitor logs show Epstein entered the White House more than a dozen times. After Clinton left office, Epstein donated to the Clinton Foundation, and Clinton’s name appeared on flight logs for the financier’s private jet — the “Lolita Express” — on more than two dozen trips. Epstein frequently travelled with young women, according to former staff.
Clinton was photographed receiving a shoulder massage from Chauntae Davies during a 2002 humanitarian trip aboard Epstein’s aircraft. He also visited Epstein’s New York townhouse, where Epstein famously displayed a bizarre portrait of Clinton in a blue dress — a reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
While Clinton denies ever visiting Epstein’s private island, both former aide Doug Band and Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre have claimed otherwise, though Giuffre has previously withdrawn parts of her statements.
