Democrats ask Goldman Sachs CEO why he’s keeping lawyer who said she’d resign over ties to Epstein

(CNN) — Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is facing new scrutiny from congressional Democrats over his reported effort to retain the bank’s top lawyer months after she said she would resign over revelations about her ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said Solomon’s decision to retain Kathy Ruemmler as an adviser after her planned departure in late June raises questions about his “professional judgement and fitness” to continue leading one of Wall Street’s most powerful firms.

Ruemmler announced in February she would resign from Goldman Sachs after a series of reports, including a number of stories from CNN’s KFile team, chronicled her extensive ties to Epstein.

In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers have argued that Solomon’s handling of a controversy that engulfed Ruemmler and led to her resignation announcement earlier this year calls into question both his leadership and Goldman Sachs’s oversight of the matter.

“The information uncovered in recent months not only raises serious questions as to whether Goldman Sachs either failed to conduct proper due diligence or viewed Ruemmler’s relationship with Epstein as appropriate when appointing her as the firm’s top lawyer, but now calls into question your professional judgement and fitness to continue leading one of the largest banks in the United States,” the pair wrote.

Warren, the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and Krishnamoorthi asked Goldman Sachs to explain what Ruemmler disclosed about Epstein before joining the firm, whether the bank was aware that she had advised him on legal and public-relations matters, and what additional due diligence it conducted before elevating her to one of the most powerful legal positions on Wall Street.

They also sought details about her reported transition to a Goldman advisory role, compensation and whether regulators were informed of her ties to Epstein. They asked for written answers from the firm by June 26, though the bank is under no legal obligation to respond.

Ruemmler announced in February that she would resign from her role as chief legal officer at the firm effective June 30. The Financial Times and Bloomberg reported on Friday that Solomon asked her to stay on as an advisor. CNN has not verified the reports.

CNN reached out to Goldman Sachs and Ruemmler. Both declined to comment.

In an interview published Thursday by The New York Times opinion section as part of a guest essay, Ruemmler said she maintained contact with Epstein because of the business and networking demands of her work as a corporate lawyer and that she did not fully understand the extent of his crimes at the time.

“If I had seen or heard anything to suggest that Epstein was harming women or girls, I would have taken action to stop it,” she said in the guest essay interview.

The letter follows months of scrutiny over Ruemmler’s ties to Epstein after a trove of files released by the Justice Department revealed her extensive ties to the disgraced financier. A former Obama White House counsel, Ruemmler exchanged hundreds of messages with Epstein in the years after she left the White House in 2014, and before she joined Goldman.

The messages show that Ruemmler accepted gifts from Epstein and that she appeared to advise him on legal and reputational matters years after his 2008 conviction.

The files also show that Ruemmler discussed legal and media strategies related to allegations against Epstein, thanked him for expensive gifts and, at one point, explored taking a trip to his private island that ultimately did not occur.

Other records show Ruemmler advised Epstein on litigation brought by his accusers and helped coordinate responses to journalists examining allegations that he sexually abused underage girls. In one 2015 email, she wrote that “friendships goes two ways – getti=g you some peace with respect to all of this legal shit is important to me.”

In another exchange, she described a news article about Epstein as “a novella of rehashed crap.” Ruemmler told CNN in December that she was referring to the article as crap but not the allegations. “I have deep sympathy for anyone victimized by Epstein, and as I have said many times, I regret ever knowing him,” she said.

Ruemmler has said since the release of the files she knew Epstein through her work as a white-collar defense attorney and did not formally represent him, nor was she compensated by him, and had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part.

Goldman Sachs has also maintained that her relationship with Epstein was professional in nature.

Ruemmler had previously said she knew Epstein as a “business referral source.”

The lawmakers Warren and Krishnamoorthi also questioned Goldman Sachs’s compensation of Ruemmler despite the growing controversy surrounding her ties to Epstein.

“The firm has also been extremely generous in its financial support of Ruemmler. It was revealed in March that Ruemmler received an 11 percent raise, bringing her total compensation for 2025 to an astounding $25 million. Ruemmler’s company stock options, which are valued at about $80 million, are expected to vest over the next two years,” they wrote.

“If Ruemmler is no longer departing the bank, please provide the reasoning, her new title, duties associated with her new role, and details regarding her compensation package,” they asked.

They are not the only lawmakers interested in hearing about Ruemmler’s ties to Epstein. The House Oversight Committee is scheduled to interview Ruemmler behind closed doors on July 15 as part of its investigation into Epstein.

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