Robert Garcia demands Goldman Sachs cut Kathryn – Business News
A prime House Democrat demanded Friday that Goldman Sachs cut all remaining ties with former basic counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, blasting her testimony about Jeffrey Epstein as “nothing short of shocking” and accusing her of attacking one of the late financier and intercourse offender’s most distinguished victims, The Post has discovered.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the rating Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, referred to as on Goldman CEO David Solomon to sever ties with Ruemmler, who remained on the Wall Street giant as a senior counselor after stepping down as its prime lawyer in June.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the rating Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, demanded that Goldman Sachs sever all remaining ties with Kathryn Ruemmler over her testimony about Jeffrey Epstein. AP Photo/Rod Lamkey
“Ms. Ruemmler should not serve as a Goldman Sachs executive in any capacity,” Garcia wrote within the letter obtained by The Post, giving Solomon till Aug. 21 to reply.
Garcia additionally demanded that Goldman decide to changing Ruemmler with a basic counsel who has no connections to Epstein or his convicted confederate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Ruemmler pushed back in opposition to Garcia’s transfer.
“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,” her spokeswoman Jennifer Connelly instructed The Post.
“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.”
Garcia’s letter zeroed in on Ruemmler’s July 15 transcribed interview earlier than the committee, accusing the previous Obama White House counsel and federal prosecutor of exhibiting “a shocking disrespect” for Virginia Giuffre, the late Epstein accuser.
Garcia wrote that Ruemmler described Giuffre’s allegations as “generic,” “implausible” and having “lacked inherent credibility,” and claimed Ruemmler “would not even acknowledge that Ms. Giuffre was a victim of Mr. Epstein’s and Ms. Maxwell’s abuse.”
But Ruemmler’s testimony, in line with materials reviewed by The Post, confirmed she believed Giuffre was a sufferer of Epstein and Maxwell however couldn’t communicate to allegations involving different highly effective males.
Asked instantly during the interview, “Do you believe that Virginia Giuffre was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell?” Ruemmler replied: “I don’t know. If she says that she was, I don’t have a reason to doubt that.”
Former Goldman Sachs basic counsel Kathryn Ruemmler (left) has mentioned it was “a mistake” to deal with Jeffrey Epstein and that she regrets the connection. AP Photo/Rod Lamkey
“However, there were allegations that she made that were, I believed based on my experience as a former prosecutor and as a defense counsel, not inherently credible,” she added.
Ruemmler earlier recognized these allegations as claims that Giuffre had been pressured to have intercourse with “foreign presidents, plural,” in addition to “multiple American politicians” and “multiple business leaders.”
Notwithstanding Giuffre’s broad claims, no overseas presidents or different American politicians have ever been charged in reference to Giuffre.
“Those allegations … were inconsistent with anything that I had understood about the evidence that the state attorney and the US attorney in Miami had uncovered,” Ruemmler testified.
She individually mentioned the claims “seemed to lack the indicia of credibility that one would expect” and have been “entirely inconsistent with the resolution of the case in Florida [and] the summary of the evidence.”
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is going through demands from Rep. Robert Garcia to sever the bank’s remaining ties with former basic counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. Getty Images
Ruemmler additionally warned lawmakers in opposition to judging people primarily based on their relationships with others, arguing that guilt by affiliation runs counter to the American legal system.
“In the American legal system, we hold people accountable for their conduct. We don’t hold people accountable for their associations … It is, in my opinion, a very, very bad policy to start to impute misconduct by people solely as a virtue of their association.”
A 2019 Justice Department review likewise drew distinctions amongst Giuffre’s allegations, in line with supplies reviewed by The Post, discovering investigators had been “unable to corroborate” her accounts of being “lent out” to different males for intercourse.
“No other victim has described being expressly directed by either Maxwell or Epstein to engage in sexual activity with any other men,” the DOJ memorandum mentioned.
The review however corroborated important parts of Giuffre’s account, together with her recruitment by Maxwell and abuse by Epstein.
Garcia attended solely half of Ruemmler’s July 15 interview and didn’t ask her any questions earlier than leaving, sources instructed The Post.
Garcia’s letter leveled a broad assault on Ruemmler’s conduct round Epstein, saying she confirmed that she knew he was a registered intercourse offender and that the pair made inappropriate jokes.
Ruemmler instructed Congress that Epstein was by no means her shopper however acknowledged that he referred shoppers to her after cold-calling her in 2014 as she restarted her non-public law follow following her stint within the Obama administration.
Virginia Giuffre (seen left with legal professional David Boies in 2019), the late Epstein accuser, turned a flashpoint within the battle over Kathryn Ruemmler’s testimony earlier than the House Oversight Committee. REUTERS
She mentioned Epstein referred an important financial establishment that retained her and that his position as a major adviser to the shopper resulted in “substantial dealings” with him. She additionally acknowledged that Epstein sought her advice “from time to time.”
Ruemmler has mentioned she noticed no proof of ongoing legal conduct by Epstein during their relationship and would have reported him had she encountered proof that he was abusing girls or ladies.
“It was a mistake to deal with him, and I regret it,” she mentioned in her ready testimony.
She additionally mentioned no one at Goldman raised issues about her serving on the bank’s reputational-risk and code-of-conduct committees as a result of of her Epstein relationship, in line with Garcia’s letter.
“No, and I can’t imagine why they would have,” Ruemmler testified.
Solomon has pushed back on criticism surrounding Ruemmler.
Ruemmler instructed Congress that she regretted ever coping with Jeffrey Epstein, seen right here with Ghislaine Maxwell. SDNY
Asked about claims that Ruemmler could possibly be complicating the seek for her alternative, Solomon final month dismissed the suggestion as “fake news.”
“Kathy stepped away because of the noise. We run a complicated organization. We’ve got lots going on,” Solomon instructed CNBC.
“We’re very grateful that she continues to help the firm and she’s involved in the search itself.”
The Post has sought remark from Goldman Sachs.
