Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has demanded that Goldman Sachs sever all remaining ties with former general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, citing Ruemmler's testimony regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter addressed to Goldman CEO David Solomon, Garcia stated that Ruemmler should not serve as a Goldman Sachs executive in any capacity and that the bank must commit to replacing her with a general counsel who has no connections to Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Solomon has until August 21 to respond.
Garcia's demand centers on Ruemmler's July 15 transcribed interview before the committee, during which he claims she displayed “a shocking disrespect” for Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser. Garcia stated that Ruemmler described Giuffre's allegations as “generic,” “implausible,” and lacking credibility, and asserted that Ruemmler would not acknowledge Giuffre as a victim of Epstein and Maxwell's abuse.
Ruemmler's spokeswoman, Jennifer Connelly, pushed back against Garcia's claims. "As Ms. Ruemmler told the committee, she had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity by Epstein and there is not a shred of evidence to suggest otherwise," Connelly said in a statement. "Ms. Ruemmler would never turn a blind eye to any criminal activity and if she had seen or heard anything to suggest that Epstein was harming women or girls, she would have taken action to stop it."
According to materials reviewed by The Post, Ruemmler's testimony indicated she believed Giuffre was a victim but could not speak to allegations involving other powerful men. When asked directly if she believed Giuffre was a victim of Epstein and Maxwell, Ruemmler responded, "I don’t know. If she says that she was, I don’t have a reason to doubt that." However, she added that certain allegations, such as Giuffre being forced to have sex with multiple foreign presidents and American politicians, were not inherently credible based on her experience as a former prosecutor and defense counsel and were inconsistent with the evidence uncovered in Florida.
Ruemmler also testified that accountability should be based on conduct, not association, stating, "In the American legal system, we hold people accountable for their conduct. We don’t hold people accountable for their associations."
A 2019 Justice Department review, also reviewed by The Post, found investigators unable to corroborate Giuffre's accounts of being "lent out" to other men for sex, noting that no other victim described being expressly directed by Maxwell or Epstein to engage in sexual activity with other men. The review did, however, corroborate significant portions of Giuffre's account, including her recruitment by Maxwell and abuse by Epstein.
Garcia's letter further alleged that Ruemmler confirmed knowing Epstein was a registered sex offender and that they made inappropriate jokes. Ruemmler stated that while Epstein was never her client, he referred clients to her and they had dealings when she restarted her private law practice in 2014. She maintained she saw no evidence of ongoing criminal conduct by Epstein and would have reported him had she encountered such evidence. Ruemmler described their relationship as "a mistake to deal with him, and I regret it."
Garcia's letter also noted that Ruemmler testified that no one at Goldman raised concerns about her serving on the bank's reputational-risk and code-of-conduct committees due to her Epstein relationship.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has previously defended Ruemmler. When asked last month about suggestions that Ruemmler was complicating the search for her replacement, Solomon dismissed the notion as "fake news," stating that she stepped away due to "the noise" and that the bank was grateful for her continued assistance in the search.
Garcia reportedly attended only part of Ruemmler's July 15 interview and did not ask her any questions before leaving.