Former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler has attempted to downplay a steady drip of revelations about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein by claiming he never "compensated" her. Newly released emails, however, show the convicted sex criminal showered Ruemmler with luxury gifts, including a $9,400 Hermes handbag, an Hermes-branded Apple watch, and a spa treatment package at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., emails reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show.
The gifts, revealed in documents released Friday by the Department of Justice, came years after allegations of Epstein's sex crimes against children became public knowledge and undercut Ruemmler's attempts to distance herself from Epstein.
Ruemmler, now the top lawyer for Goldman Sachs, has faced intense criticism as troves of Epstein records shed light on her relationship with the sex pest. When CNN reported last month that Ruemmler advised Epstein on media strategies, she told the outlet she "did not represent him and was not compensated by him."
The documents released Friday show otherwise. In emails ranging from 2014 to 2019, Ruemmler routinely corresponded with Epstein's associates to accept gifts or express her gratitude to Epstein. In some cases, she asked for specific items.
The priciest gift likely came in August 2016, when Epstein purchased Ruemmler a $9,400 handbag from the French luxury brand Hermes. Epstein took a particular interest in ensuring Ruemmler received the bag, directing one of his associates, Lesley Groff, to "confirm receipt with Kathy" and "follow up to make sure it happens." When Ruemmler received the bag, she wrote to Groff, "OH MY GOD!!!!! He is in so much trouble!!!! I am dying. It is so beautiful," as Groff relayed to Epstein. Used versions of the same bag—a Jypsiere 31—now sell for around $5,000.
Some two years later, in November 2018, Epstein bought Ruemmler an Hermes edition of the Apple Watch, which retails for $1,300. Emails show that Ruemmler asked for a specific model and watch band and said the gift was "so sweet of Jeffrey!"
"If truly okay with him to do the Hermes, I would love the 40 mm, stainless Hermes with bleu indigo swift leather double tour," Ruemmler wrote at the time. "I'll wear that one every day, whereas the sportier ones I would likely only wear on weekends or when exercising, etc." When Epstein's associate, Groff, relayed the gift to Epstein's accountant, Richard Kahn, Groff wrote, "I knew Kathy would want Hermes." Epstein bought another Apple Watch for Steve Bannon around the same time, according to the emails.
Epstein also appeared to be attuned to Ruemmler's schedule and professional achievements. He booked a "full half day" spa appointment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown for Ruemmler in August 2016, writing to an associate, "she won her case and needs some pampering." The associate responded with a credit card authorization form and said, "Kathy will go either today or tomorrow she says…" A massage and facial at the luxury hotel can cost upwards of $1,000.
Epstein appeared to provide other gifts of unknown value to Ruemmler. In December 2014, an Epstein associate emailed Ruemmler to inform her that Epstein planned to send his housekeeper to "deliver your ring to you!!" In February 2019, an Epstein associate sent a reminder email to an unidentified individual reading, "Reminder: Bottle of wine and note card to be delivered to Ruemmler today. Let me know once it has been delivered so I can tell Jeffrey."
That email came just months before Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking minors. All of the gifts shown in the documents released Friday came in the years after Epstein was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl and after he pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution with a minor in 2008.
Ruemmler, a Georgetown University Law Center graduate, served in the Obama White House from 2011 to 2014, when she returned to Latham and Watkins, the white-shoe law firm where she worked as a partner before taking the White House job. She joined Goldman Sachs as a partner in 2020 and was promoted to chief legal officer and general counsel in 2021.
Ruemmler's friendship with Epstein has created a headache for the financial giant, which reportedly pays Ruemmler an annual salary nearing $25 million. The firm so far has defended Ruemmler, saying her relationship was business-related and occurred before she joined. Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ruemmler and Epstein struck up a fast friendship soon after she left the Obama White House. Emails and text messages released by Congress and the Department of Justice show Epstein used Ruemmler as a sounding board for both legal advice and dealing with press reports about his sex crimes.
One of their first email exchanges was in September 2014, when Epstein appeared to advise Ruemmler regarding her potentially taking the job of President Obama's attorney general, to replace outgoing attorney general Eric Holder.
"Talk to boss," Epstein wrote to Ruemmler.
"Agreed, but I need to be prepared to say yes before I talk to him," Ruemmler responded. It is unclear who the "boss" refers to.
The email exchange turned provocative after Ruemmler made a passing remark about "girls" dealing with career maneuvers.
"‘[G]irls?" Epstein replied. "[C]areful i will renew an old habit."
Ruemmler ignored the remark and suggested she would see Epstein soon in New York City. "I'll be here all week — you may get sick of me," she wrote.
Ruemmler appeared sympathetic to Epstein in other emails.
"Good lord. A novella of rehashed crap," Ruemmler wrote Epstein in a June 22, 2018, email, responding to a Daily Beast article about Epstein's ties to Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
Ruemmler also appears to have drafted statements on behalf of Epstein that the pedophile intended to provide the media. On March 7, 2019, Epstein texted an associate a "Ruemmler proposal" regarding a statement to the Washington Post.
"This is what Kathy suggests we tell [the Washington Post]," he wrote. The statement disputed that Epstein received a "sweetheart deal" in his 2008 sex crime case and stated that he was "subjected to a lengthy, aggressive, and highly unusual federal investigation."
