{"id":5977,"date":"2026-07-15T16:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=5977"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:37:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:37:02","slug":"former-obama-white-house-attorney-says-it-was-a-mistake-to-deal-with-epstein-and-she-regrets-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=5977","title":{"rendered":"Former Obama White House attorney says \u2018it was a mistake\u2019 to deal with Epstein and she regrets it"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Former Obama White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler said she regrets interacting with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and believes now it was a mistake, according to opening remarks she delivered to House committee investigators as part of a closed-door interview.\n <\/p>\n

Read more Johnson unveils $95 billion plan for defense spending and Trump\u2019s elections overhaul<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf I knew then what I know now about who Epstein really was, I never would have accepted an initial meeting with him. It was a mistake to deal with him, and I regret it,\u201d Ruemmler said, according to prepared remarks provided to CNN. \u201cBut many people assume that given everything we know now about Epstein, everyone who dealt with him before his 2019 indictment must have known everything then. In my case, that assumption is completely wrong.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Ruemmler was called to testify voluntarily by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee for a closed-door interview as part of the congressional probe into Epstein after numerous news stories scrutinized her ties to the disgraced financier. Reporting from CNN\u2019s KFILE detailed the extent of her relationship with Epstein, including that she was among a small group of advisers to help him ward off legal and reputational risk during the final years of his life.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ruemmler did not specifically address how she sought to help Epstein protect his reputation in her opening remarks but did say, \u201ceven though I wasn\u2019t his lawyer, he sought my advice from time to time, as many people do. I was friendly with him in that context, and I dealt with him in my ordinary course \u2014 casually, informally, and sometimes irreverently.\u201d She also said that Epstein was never her client.\n <\/p>\n

\n She said that she first met Epstein in 2014 \u2014 and explained how she came to learn about how Epstein pled guilty in 2008 to charges that included the solicitation of a minor for prostitution along with other offenses and why she continued to engage with him.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cEpstein told me that, while a small number of the women he had solicited for prostitution turned out to be under the age of consent, he had not known that any of them were underage. Epstein appeared to be quite open about the conduct leading to his conviction, or so he led me to believe. He expressed remorse, embarrassment, and regret for his conduct, which he described as paying money for sex to women he believed to be over the age of 18,\u201d Ruemmler said in her opening statement.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNotwithstanding his conviction, by the time I met him, he had active relationships with an extensive group of respected professionals in business, academia, politics, and the arts. And given the nature of my law practice, I routinely dealt with compromised or controversial people, including those facing criminal or other allegations of wrongdoing,\u201d she said, while adding that she \u201cat no time\u201d endorsed or excused the conduct to which Epstein pled guilty.\n <\/p>\n

\n She called Epstein a \u201cmasterful liar\u201d \u2014 and also said that she \u201cdid not see any evidence of ongoing criminal conduct or misconduct of any kind by Epstein.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n She said that, \u201cif I had seen or heard any evidence suggesting that he was abusing women or girls, I would have immediately reported him to law enforcement.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Ahead of the interview, Ruemmler told CNN, \u201cI will answer any questions that they think will help their inquiry. So, again, I\u2019m looking forward to meeting with the committee members today.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n House Oversight Chair James Comer said prior to the start of the interview, \u201cshe\u2019s a very powerful person that was probably more involved in working with him to rehabilitate his image, which I would argue has made it more difficult for him to be held accountable. So, very concerning. We want to know what she knew and we have a lot of questions about the extent of their relationship.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Robert Garcia, echoed, \u201cthe fact that she continued to engage, give advice, was clearly a friend, and in fact was one of the folks that he was talking to consistently in the last phase of his life I think is really significant. We\u2019ve said from day one that we don\u2019t care if someone is a Republican or a Democrat or what the relationship is, we want truth and answers, and I think that\u2019s what we\u2019ll get throughout the day today.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n In February, Ruemmler announced she would resign by June 30 from her job as chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs amid fallout from the Justice Department\u2019s release of Epstein documents.\n <\/p>\n

Read more Medici family mystery may be solved after more than 400 years<\/a><\/p>\n

\n But Democrats have pressed Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon over his reported effort to retain the bank\u2019s top lawyer months after she announced she would resign.\n <\/p>\n

\n Scrutiny after Epstein files\u2019 release
\n<\/h2>\n

\n The Justice Department\u2019s release of millions of pages of Epstein documents provided fresh details about the relationship between the Ruemmler and Epstein.\n <\/p>\n

\n Amid the hundreds of email exchanges reviewed by CNN that discuss Epstein\u2019s legal battles and reputational problems, there are other more personal communications between the two, including plans for a proposed trip to Epstein\u2019s island and gifts he\u2019d given her.\n <\/p>\n

\n In some of their back-and-forth messages, Ruemmler discussed personal matters in her life, expressed for their \u201cfriendship,\u201d and concluded her messages \u201c\u201d and \u201c.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere has been much media attention around my email communications with Epstein and gifts that he gave me. Many of my emails with Epstein have been taken out of context or do not mean what some have speculated or suggested. With that said, given what I now know about him, I wish I had never dealt with him at all, much less emailed with him,\u201d Ruemmler said in her opening remarks.\n <\/p>\n

\n On the gifts specifically, Ruemmer said, \u201cI didn\u2019t ask for them, didn\u2019t need them, and didn\u2019t view them as particularly personal or consequential. I accepted them graciously, as I saw no reason not to. But the gifts weren\u2019t important to me, and I declined to accept some of them. In any event, nothing he gave me caused me to deal with him any differently than I otherwise would have.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A batch of documents released by the Justice Department on January 30 showed how Ruemmler advised Epstein on lawsuits brought by his accusers and coordinated responses to journalists, including regarding a proposed network TV interview with a victim that never aired.\n <\/p>\n

\n According to the files, Ruemmler at one point inquired about taking a trip to Epstein\u2019s private island.\n <\/p>\n

\n In January 2017, Ruemmler asked Epstein whether she could take a \u201c\u201d to the island while she was traveling in the Caribbean. Later that year, after Hurricane Irma severely damaged the island, to help Epstein clean up.\n <\/p>\n

\n A Goldman Sachs spokesperson previously said Ruemmler never visited the island.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ruemmler left the Obama White House in 2014 and went to work for Latham & Watkins as head of its white-collar defense group. The firm previously told CNN that Epstein was never a client. In 2020, Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs and was later promoted to become the firm\u2019s chief legal officer.\n <\/p>\n

\n In a statement to CNN in December, she said, \u201cI knew Jeffrey Epstein in a professional capacity when I served as head of the white collar defense group at Latham & Watkins, and he was a business referral source. I did not represent him and was not compensated by him. I was one of a number of lawyers Epstein informally reached out to for advice.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Given that Ruemmler is appearing voluntarily, she will not be sworn in under oath. She will be reminded at the start of the interview, however, that making false statements to Congress is subject to criminal prosecution. Ruemmler is the panel\u2019s 18th witness to appear for an interview as apart of the ongoing Epstein probe.\n <\/p>\n

Read more An outbreak of diarrhea from a parasite is surging. Here\u2019s what to eat and what to avoid<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Obama White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler said she regrets interacting with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and believes now it was a mistake, according to opening remarks she delivered to House committee investigators as part of a closed-door interview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Obama White House attorney says \u2018it was a mistake\u2019 to deal with Epstein and she regrets it - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=5977\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Obama White House attorney says \u2018it was a mistake\u2019 to deal with Epstein and she regrets it - 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