Kathy Rumler, Goldman Sachs’s top lawyer, resigned after emails showed close ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

NEW YORK (AP) — Cathy Rumler, a senior lawyer at the famed investment bank Goldman Sachs and a former White House adviser to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation Thursday, after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein showed a close relationship in which she described him as a “big brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.

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Rumler said in a statement that she “will step down from her position as chief legal officer and general counsel of Goldman Sachs, effective June 30, 2026.”

Until her resignation, Rummler repeatedly tried to distance herself from emails and other correspondence and was defiant that she would not resign from Goldman’s top legal position, which she has held since 2020.

While Rumler called Epstein a “monster” in his recent statements, she had a much different relationship with Epstein before he was arrested again for sex crimes in 2019 and later killed himself in a Manhattan jail. Rumler called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she adored him.

In a statement before her resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokesman said Rimler “regrets ever knowing him.”

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“Since joining Goldman Sachs six years ago, I have had the privilege of helping to oversee the firm’s legal, regulatory and reputational matters; strengthening our robust risk management processes; and ensuring that we live by our core value of integrity in everything we do. My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first,” Rummler said in her statement on Thursday.

“As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Cathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our employees, and we will miss her,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in a separate statement. “I have accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision.”

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During her time in private practice after leaving the White House in 2014, Rumler received several expensive gifts from Epstein, including luxury handbags and a fur coat. The gifts were made after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and registered as a sex offender.

“So sweet and thoughtful! Thanks Uncle Jeffrey!!!” Rumler wrote to Epstein in 2018.

Historically, Wall Street frowns on gift giving between clients and bankers or Wall Street lawyers, especially high-end gifts that could pose a conflict of interest. Goldman Sachs requires its employees to obtain prior approval before receiving or giving gifts from clients, according to the company’s code of conduct, in part to avoid running afoul of anti-bribery laws.

In late December, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon called Rimmler an “excellent lawyer” and said she had his full faith and support.