Kathryn Ruemmler, a former White House counsel under President Barack Obama and a former top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, admitted to House lawmakers that she made a joke to Jeffrey Epstein about his prostitution conviction in a 2016 email exchange. Ruemmler, who resigned from Goldman Sachs earlier this year after her extensive communications with Epstein were released by the Justice Department, described the joke as being in "extraordinarily poor taste."
Ruemmler testified before the House Oversight Committee on July 15, according to a transcript released Wednesday. The joke, made in response to an email from Epstein, read: “Best massage ever, but not your kind of massage.”
She acknowledged understanding that Epstein had pleaded guilty to offenses involving sexualized massages. Ruemmler stated the joke was intended to call attention to his prior criminal history. Epstein’s reply to the email was a single word: “Shame.”
Ruemmler explained the “best massage ever” comment referred to a spa day at The Peninsula in New York, a gift from Epstein. She told lawmakers that she had a very nice massage at the spa and the subsequent remark was a joke about his crime, where he had paid women for sexualized massages.
She expressed regret for her interactions with Epstein, stating, “I wish I never dealt with the guy. It was a mistake to deal with him. I wish I — certainly wish I’d never emailed with him.” Ruemmler added that, in retrospect, the joke was in poor taste given everything that is now known.
The former Goldman Sachs lawyer also acknowledged accepting other gifts from Epstein, including gift cards to high-end stores, a Fendi coat and bag, a Hermes bag, and an Apple Watch with a Hermes band. She claimed she never asked for the gifts, did not need them, and did not view them as particularly personal or consequential. Ruemmler stated that accepting the gifts did not cause her to interact with Epstein any differently than she otherwise would have.
Ruemmler’s communications with Epstein, which occurred after she left the White House through one of her private practice legal clients, showed a close relationship until his federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019. When questioned about referring to Epstein as “sweetie,” “older brother,” and “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails, Ruemmler denied any romantic relationship and again asserted she was joking.
She described referring to him as “Uncle Jeffrey” as a jest to poke fun at his arrogant, mansplaining, pushy, and avuncular qualities. Ruemmler stated her use of “sweetie” was patronizing, implying that his conduct involved abuse of power. She said she stopped communicating with Epstein after his arrest in July 2019. Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell later that year while awaiting trial.
Ruemmler described the events surrounding Epstein’s arrest, indictment, and death as shocking. She also expressed shock and dismay at the Bureau of Prisons’ handling of Epstein, stating, “The idea that the Bureau of Prisons, you know, could have been so negligent in a core duty to have allowed him to commit suicide was shocking and appalling to me.”