In this handout image provided by the White House, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden listen as they are updated on the federal government shutdown and the approaching debt ceiling deadline by Kathryn Ruemmler, Counsel to the President, in the Oval Office on Oct. 1, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Pete Souza – The White House / Getty Images)
By Randy DeSoto February 14, 2026 at 6:30am
The mainstream media papered over a significant aspect of Golden Sachs chief legal counsel Kathy Ruemmler’s decision to leave her position following the release of emails showing her close friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Before landing a job at the investment firm, Ruemmler was White House counsel for Barack Obama for three years from 2011 to 2014, spanning his first and second terms.
It would seem that of her two claims to fame, serving as Obama’s top lawyer is the more newsworthy.
Yet major establishment media outlets, like The New York Times, CBS, the Associated Press, CNN, and USA Today, said nothing about the Obama connection in their headlines.
The Associated Press and USA Today at least put it in the lede sentence of their articles. The New York Times and CNN waited until the fifth paragraph of their respective stories to mention Obama.
The New York Post put it in the second paragraph, and Bloomberg in its third paragraph.
The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway called out CNN for its reporting, posting on social media, “Love that you’re downplaying the most newsworthy thing about her — she was Obama’s White House counsel. Cuz that’s what news organizations do.”
Kathy Ruemmler is resigning as chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs amid increased scrutiny of her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. https://t.co/NuFPN3jan5 pic.twitter.com/NKTXTiOHWy
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 13, 2026
Conservative political consultant Alex Bruesewitz also noted Bloomberg’s lack of the reference to Obama in either its story headline or social media post.
“Hey Bloomberg, please add the fact that she was Obama’s former White House counsel to your headline. Kind of a major detail to leave out!”
Hey Bloomberg, please add the fact that she was Obama’s former White House counsel to your headline. Kind of a major detail to leave out! https://t.co/1XRkwdYsjb
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) February 13, 2026
The New York Post reported Ruemmler signed emails to Epstein “xoxo.”
For his 62nd birthday in 2015, she wrote in an email to Epstein, “I hope you enjoy the day with your one true love :-)”
Epstein replied, “they say that men usually gvie [sic] a name to their penis, as [it] would be inappropriate to make love to a total stranger.”
Ruemmler fired back, “Hard to believe that there is still an open question about whether men are [the] inferior gender.”
She exchanged “thousands of emails with Epstein in the years between his 2008 conviction for procuring a minor [for prostitution] and before the extent of his alleged sex crimes came to light in 2019,” according to the New York Post.
Another email shows that Ruemmler seemingly helped Epstein coordinate a response as ABC News prepared to air a story in 2015 featuring Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sex trafficking her when she was underage.
Ruemmler wrote to Epstein that Giuffre’s “fantastical claims are — on their face — not credible.”
In an email dated April 23, 2015, she apparently sent some redline edits to a statement regarding the allegations, though the attachment was not included in the files released by the Justice Department.
Giuffre took her own life last year.
In 2017, Epstein emailed Ruemmler to ask if she thought he should invite Obama to his island to meet her and someone named “Lisa” there.
The question came after Obama had recently visited Richard Branson’s island in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
“Much nicer than bransons. . more private=as well,” he wrote.
Ruemmler responded, “If that came out, it would really be a scandal! Can you =magine what the Daily Mail would do?”
The New York Post reported that in 2014, months after she left the White House, Ruemmler sent Epstein a draft for his feedback on a statement declining further consideration for the position of U.S. attorney general to replace Eric Holder during the Obama administration.
The position ultimately went to Loretta Lynch.
Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book “We Hold These Truths” and screenwriter of the political documentary “I Want Your Money.”
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean’s list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
