Former Obama White House attorney says ‘it was a mistake’ to deal with Epstein and she regrets it

Former Obama White House lawyer Kathy Ruemmler said she regretted interacting with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and now believes it was a mistake, according to her opening statement to House committee investigators as part of a closed-door interview.

“If I had known then who Epstein really was, I would never have agreed to the first meeting with him. It was a mistake to get along with him, and I regret it,” Ruemmler said, according to prepared statements provided to CNN. he said. “But many people assume that, given everything we know about Epstein now, anyone who dealt with him before his indictment in 2019 must have known everything. In my case, that assumption is completely wrong.”

Ruemmler was subpoenaed to voluntarily testify for a closed-door interview by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee as part of its congressional investigation into Epstein, following multiple news reports examining Epstein’s ties to the disgraced financier. It is reported from: CNN’s KFILE He detailed the extent of his relationship with Epstein; This included being among a small group of advisors who helped Epstein avoid legal and reputational risks in the final years of his life.

Ruemmler did not specifically state in her opening statement how she tried to help Epstein maintain his reputation, but said: “Although I was not his attorney, he did seek my advice from time to time, as most people do. In that context, I was friendly with him and dealt with him casually, informally, and sometimes disrespectfully.” She also said that Epstein was never her client.

She said she first met Epstein in 2014 and described how she pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges that included soliciting a minor for prostitution, as well as other crimes, and why she continued to have a relationship with him.

Ruemmler said in his opening statement: “Epstein told me that while the small number of women he solicited for prostitution turned out to be under the age of consent, he did not know that any of them were underage. Epstein appeared to be quite open about the behavior that led to his conviction, or so he led me to believe. He expressed remorse, shame and remorse for his behavior, which he described as paying women for sex whom he believed were over the age of 18.” declaration.

“Despite his conviction, when I met him he had active relationships with a broad 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 criminal allegations,” he said, adding that he “never” approved or excused the conduct to which Epstein pleaded guilty.

Ruemmler called Epstein a “master liar” and also said he “has not seen any evidence of Epstein’s ongoing criminal behavior or misconduct.”

“If I had seen or heard any evidence that he was harassing women or girls, I would have reported him to law enforcement immediately,” she said.

Ahead of the interview, Ruemmler told CNN: “I will answer any questions that they think will help their investigation. So, I look forward to meeting with the committee members once again today.”

House Oversight Chairman James Comer said before the start of the interview: “She’s a very powerful person, and she probably got more involved in working with him to try and fix his image, which I think made it harder to hold him accountable. So it’s very concerning. We want to know what he knew, and we have a lot of questions about the extent of his dealings.”

Rep. Robert Garcia, the panel’s top Democrat, echoed this: “I think it’s really important that he continues to get along, to give advice, to openly be a friend and actually be one of the people that he talks to constantly in the final phase of his life. We’ve said from day one that we don’t care whether someone is a Republican or a Democrat or what the relationship is, we want facts and answers, and I think that’s what we’re going to face throughout the day today.”

As the interview continued, Garcia questioned Ruemmler’s credibility and said it was “problematic” that Republicans allowed him to testify without forcing him to be sworn in.

“It is difficult to understand how honest he was in his answers to the committee. And of course the transcript will be revealed,” Garcia told reporters.

Ruemmler in February announced He was due to resign from his post as chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs by June 30 amid fallout from the Justice Department’s release of the Epstein documents.

But there are Democrats pressed Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said reported effort Months after announcing he would resign, he offered to keep the bank’s top lawyer.

Scrutiny following publication of Epstein files

The Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of Epstein documents provided new details about the relationship between Ruemmler and Epstein.

Amid the hundreds of email exchanges reviewed by CNN that discuss Epstein’s legal battles and reputational issues, there are also more personal communications between the two, including a proposed trip plan to Epstein’s island and gifts he gave her.

In some back-and-forth messages, Ruemmler discussed personal issues in his life. gratitude He ended his messages because of their “friendship” with “Yes” And “xoxo“

“My email communications with Epstein and the gifts he gave me attracted a lot of media attention. Many of my emails with Epstein were taken out of context or are not meant to be speculated or suggested by some. However, given what I know about him now, I wish I had never dealt with him or even emailed him,” Ruemmler said in his opening statement.

Regarding the gifts specifically, Ruemmer said: “I didn’t want them, I didn’t need them, and I didn’t consider them particularly personal or important. I accepted them graciously, seeing no reason not to accept them. But the gifts were not important to me, and I refused to accept some of them. In any case, nothing he gave me caused me to behave differently with him than I normally would.”

A series of documents released by the Justice Department on Jan. 30 showed how Ruemmler advised Epstein on lawsuits filed by his accusers and coordinated responses to reporters, including offering a network television interview with a victim that was never aired.

At one point, Ruemmler asked if he would take a trip to Epstein’s private island, according to the filings.

In January 2017, Ruemmler told Epstein “day trip” to the island while traveling in the Caribbean. Later that year, after Hurricane Irma severely damaged the island, Ruemmler was considering traveling to the island To help clean up Epstein.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman had previously said Ruemmler had never visited the island.

Ruemmler left the Obama White House in 2014 and went to work at Latham & Watkins as president of the white-collar advocacy group. The firm previously told CNN that Epstein was never a client. Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs in 2020 and was later promoted to the firm’s chief legal officer.

“I knew Jeffrey Epstein professionally when I served as head of the white-collar defense group at Latham & Watkins, and he was a source of business referrals. I did not represent him and received no compensation from him. I was one of several attorneys whom Epstein reached out to informally for advice,” he said in a statement to CNN in December.

Given that Ruemmler appeared on stage voluntarily, he will not be sworn in. But he will be reminded at the beginning of the interview that making false statements to Congress is subject to criminal prosecution. Ruemmler became the panel’s 18th witness to attend the meeting within the scope of the ongoing Epstein investigation.

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