Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanded Goldman Sachs cut all remaining ties to Kathy Ruemmler in the wake of Ruemmler’s testimony in front of the Oversight Committee as part of the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Ruemmler refused to take accountability for her conduct in advising Jeffrey Epstein and attacked Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
“Goldman Sachs must sever all ties to Kathy Ruemmler and pledge that their next general counsel will not have any ties to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell. Individuals with ties to sex traffickers should not be rewarded and protected with high-ranking positions at a top banking institution. Every day Ruemmler escapes accountability is an insult to survivors,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
In the letter to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Ranking Member Garcia wrote, “Ms. Ruemmler’s testimony before the Committee was nothing short of shocking, clearly demonstrating a refusal to take accountability for her conduct. While Ms. Ruemmler could not remember the details of her brief call with Mr. Epstein on the day of his arrest, she managed to describe her first call with him five years earlier with remarkable clarity.[1] Over the course of her interview, Goldman Sachs’s senior counselor attacked Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a courageous survivor of Mr. Epstein’s and Ms. Maxwell’s abuse who tragically died by suicide last year. Ms. Ruemmler confirmed that she and Mr. Epstein joked about his history of sexual abuse and about trafficking the women in his orbit.[3] She also confirmed that she knew Mr. Epstein was a registered sex offender.[4] When asked if she considered the propriety of accepting a massage Mr. Epstein purchased for her, she replied “there was no reason not to accept it.” However, she made an “effort to express, you know, some empathy and support” for Mr. Epstein when he received negative media coverage.”
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