Kathryn Ruemmler, who served as White House counsel under former President Barack Obama and later as a top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, admitted to House lawmakers that she made a joke to Jeffrey Epstein about his conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. The admission came during a July 15, 2026, testimony before the House Oversight Committee, with a transcript released on Wednesday revealing the details of the exchange.
Ruemmler, 55, resigned from Goldman Sachs earlier this year after her extensive communications with Epstein were released by the Justice Department. The emails showed she had a chummy relationship with the disgraced financier, including a 2016 message where she wrote: “Best massage ever, but not your kind of massage.” Ruemmler told the committee the quip was made in “extraordinarily poor taste.”
“I certainly knew that he had pled guilty to two prostitution-related offenses and that those involved sexualized massages,” Ruemmler acknowledged. “So what I was making here was an offhanded joke that, certainly sitting here in 2026, is in extraordinarily poor taste, but it was a joke about his prior criminal history.”
The massage in question took place at The Peninsula hotel in New York City, after Epstein gifted Ruemmler “a half spa day” at the luxury property. Ruemmler testified that she went on a Saturday morning and wrote back to thank him, adding the poorly considered punchline. Epstein’s one-word reply was “Shame.”
“I wish I never dealt with the guy,” Ruemmler continued. “It was a mistake to deal with him. I wish I certainly wish I’d never emailed with him.” She further explained that the joke was meant to call him out on his criminal record, but in hindsight, it reflects poor judgment.
Ruemmler’s relationship with Epstein extended beyond email banter. She admitted accepting a series of lavish gifts from the convicted sex offender, despite claiming she never received any payment from him. Among the items were gift cards to high-end stores like Bergdorf Goodman, a Fendi coat and bag, a Hermes bag, and an Apple Watch with a Hermes band. “With respect to gifts, I didn’t ask for them, I didn’t need them, and I didn’t view them as particularly personal or consequential,” Ruemmler testified. “I accepted them graciously, as I saw no reason not to, but the gifts weren’t important to me, and I declined to accept some of them.”
The former Obama lawyer also faced questions about the affectionate language she used in emails to Epstein, including calling him “sweetie,” “older brother,” and “Uncle Jeffrey.” Ruemmler denied any romantic relationship, insisting the terms were used in a joking manner. She described Epstein as “extremely arrogant,” a “mansplainer,” “pushy,” and “avuncular,” and said she used “Uncle Jeffrey” to poke fun at his paternalistic behavior. Similarly, “sweetie” was used in a patronizing way after Epstein tried to compare his own conduct unfavorably to that of Harvey Weinstein. “My tone was, ‘sweetie,’ like I was patting him on the head. ‘Hey, sweetie, your conduct involved abuse of power too.’ So it was far from an indication of affection,” she testified.
Ruemmler’s connection to Epstein began through her private legal practice after leaving the White House. She represented a client who had dealings with Epstein, and the two began communicating regularly. The relationship continued until Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019. He subsequently died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell later that year. Ruemmler told the panel she was “shocked” by the arrest and indictment, and even more so by the suicide, calling the Bureau of Prisons’ negligence “appalling.”
The case has brought renewed scrutiny to the networks of wealthy and powerful individuals who associated with Epstein, and Ruemmler’s testimony is part of a broader investigation by the House Oversight Committee into Epstein’s contacts and the Justice Department’s handling of the case. Her resignation from Goldman Sachs earlier this year followed the release of thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents by the DOJ, which revealed her name appeared more than 1,000 times.
Background on Ruemmler’s career adds context to the scandal. She served as White House counsel from 2011 to 2014, advising President Obama on legal matters ranging from executive actions to Supreme Court nominations. Before that, she was a principal deputy associate attorney general in the Justice Department and spent years in private practice at Latham & Watkins, where she specialized in securities litigation and internal investigations. At Goldman Sachs, she was a partner and co-head of the firm’s global litigation group, a role that ended abruptly after the Epstein emails surfaced.
The committee’s investigation continues, with more former associates of Epstein expected to testify. For Ruemmler, the fallout from her association with Epstein has damaged a once-stellar reputation. Her acknowledgment of poor taste and acceptance of gifts highlights the ethical gray areas that can arise when powerful individuals cross paths with criminals, even unknowingly. As she stated in her testimony, “The idea that the Bureau of Prisons could have been so negligent in a core duty to have allowed him to commit suicide was shocking and appalling to me.”
Source: AOL.com News