The private calendar of deceased financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein shows meetings with international political and business leaders, documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) show.
The documents show Epstein met with former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler on numerous occasions between her time in the government and her current position with Goldman Sachs, according to WSJ. Epstein first scheduled to meet Ruemmler in August 2014 and planned to introduce her to acquaintances afterwards. (RELATED: REPORT: Biden’s CIA Director Met With Jeffrey Epstein Multiple Times After Child Sex Crimes Conviction, Docs Show)
Kathryn Ruemmler, former Obama White House counsel, ‘had dozens of meetings with Epstein in the years after her White House service and before she became a top lawyer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in 2020.’ From @WSJ: https://t.co/hZEwksrIh6
— Byron York (@ByronYork) April 30, 2023
Their first meeting occurred after Epstein called her about potentially representing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organization run by billionaire Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told WSJ. A spokesperson for Gates said Epstein never worked for Gates, his relationship with Gates was misrepresented and that Gates regrets having met him, according to the outlet.
Over the next few years, Epstein and Ruemmler met more than three dozen times while she was a white-collar defense attorney for prominent law firm Latham & Watkins, the documents show. Ruemmler had a professional relationship with Epstein and did not travel with him, the Goldman Sachs spokesperson told WSJ.
“In the normal course, Epstein also invited her to meetings and social gatherings, introduced her to other business contacts and made referrals,” the spokesperson said. “It was the same kinds of contacts and engagements she had with other contacts and clients.” Epstein was not a client at the firm, a spokesperson for Latham & Watkins told WSJ. (RELATED: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon To Be Questioned Under Oath In Epstein Trial: Report)
CIA’s William Burns, Goldman’s Kathryn Ruemmler, Noam Chomsky, the president of Bard College, a Kissinger consultant and a Rothschild. They all met with Jeffrey Epstein in the years after his conviction, documents show. https://t.co/Kj7iFC2P9v
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 30, 2023
Epstein connected Ruemmler with Ariane de Rothschild, who now serves as CEO of Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild Group, WSJ reported. The introduction led to the bank hiring Latham & Watkins for U.S. regulatory purposes, the bank and Goldman spokesperson told the outlet.
Epstein would meet with de Rothschild more than a dozen times for business deals, helping find staff and other matters. She purchased nearly $1 million of auctioned items for Epstein in 2014 and 2015, and she negotiated a $25 million contract between Epstein’s Southern Trust Co. and the bank in 2015.
Edmond de Rothschild group told WSJ she met with him from 2013-19 and introduced him to U.S. finance leaders, recommended law firms and consulted with him on taxes and risk. The bank said in 2019 de Rothschild never met with Epstein, a statement they acknowledged was not accurate. Additionally, the bank told WSJ de Rothschild was unaware of Epstein’s past and she supports the victims after learning about his behavior.
Epstein also scheduled more than a dozen meetings from 2013-19 with Joshua Cooper Ramo, then-co-CEO of Henry Kissinger’s consulting firm and board member for Starbucks and FedEx. Many of his appointments with Epstein were scheduled after 5 p.m. at Epstein’s townhouse, WSJ found. One meeting took place in 2013 with Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, another individual who met with Epstein regularly, the documents show.
Barak typically met with Epstein when he took trips to New York City and Epstein regularly introduced him to people for geopolitical discussions, WSJ reported. “He often brought other interesting persons, from art or culture, law or science, finance, diplomacy or philanthropy,” Barak told the outlet.
Epstein was convicted by Florida prosecutors in June 2008 for procuring and soliciting a minor for prostitution, per WSJ. He spent 13 months in a work-release program and was registered as a sex offender. In July 2019, Epstein was charged for alleged sex trafficking by federal prosecutors after reporting by the Miami Herald about Epstein’s sexual abuse drew significant public scrutiny.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 — it was ruled a suicide. His romantic partner and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.