周三公布的一份听证笔录显示，前白宫法律顾问凯西・鲁姆勒向众议院监督委员会表示，杰弗里・爱泼斯坦牵线介绍的业务，为她所在律所创造了数百万美元（千万级以内）的收入。这一证词让议员们进一步看清，这名已定罪性犯罪者如何依靠与权贵富豪的人脉，为自己身边人谋取利益。
鲁姆勒从未正式担任爱泼斯坦的代理律师，但时常为其提供法律与公关建议。7 月 15 日，她出席委员会闭门听证会，配合调查政府当年处理爱泼斯坦相关案件的全过程。
鲁姆勒称，爱泼斯坦时不时向她寻求法律咨询，“很多人都会这么做”。她辩称自己和爱泼斯坦仅仅是纯粹的业务往来，但承认爱泼斯坦帮她争取到法国银行家阿里亚娜・德・罗斯柴尔德的合作机会，还为律所另一名律师引荐了一桩刑事案件的客户。
鲁姆勒后来出任高盛首席法务官。她表示，自己知晓爱泼斯坦 2008 年因引诱未成年人卖淫认罪一事，但依旧与其保持往来，原因是爱泼斯坦当时对自身行为表达了 “懊悔、难堪与愧疚”。
笔录记载，鲁姆勒表示：“在和他打交道的这段时间里，我没有发现任何证据表明他持续实施犯罪或不法行为。其次，如果我看到、听到任何线索，证实他侵害女性或少女，我会立刻向执法部门举报。”
谈及二人交往经历，鲁姆勒向议员介绍，2014 年至 2019 年间，她与爱泼斯坦会面大约 20 次。二人最后一次通话发生在 2019 年 7 月爱泼斯坦被捕之后。
“通话十分简短，时长大概不到一分钟。我印象里，他只说了自己被捕了。我当时回复他：‘你显然需要联系你的律师。’”
鲁姆勒称，她随后还前往曼哈顿出席爱泼斯坦的刑事聆讯，因为 “得知他被捕我极为震惊”，同时也想把案件最新进展告知罗斯柴尔德。
“我和阿里亚娜・德・罗斯柴尔德私交不错，我清楚她想知道整件事的详细情况。想要了解实情，最好的办法就是亲自到庭旁听。”
罗斯柴尔德银行一名发言人今年早些时候向路透社表示，2013 至 2019 年间，德・罗斯柴尔德仅与爱泼斯坦存在业务往来，对其所作所为毫不知情，并且 “毫不含糊地谴责爱泼斯坦犯下的罪行”。
议员们重点追问了鲁姆勒与爱泼斯坦之间语气轻松、关系亲昵的邮件记录，信件里她称呼爱泼斯坦为 “杰弗里叔叔”，还形容对方如同兄长。
鲁姆勒解释道：“他为人极度傲慢，总喜欢居高临下地说教，行事强势，一副长辈做派。我戏称他‘杰弗里叔叔’，其实是一种调侃，借此点出他高高在上、颐指气使的姿态。”
针对部分邮件内容 —— 包括提及 “杰弗里式按摩”，看似拿爱泼斯坦的犯罪行为开玩笑，鲁姆勒承认现在回头看，这些文字显得麻木冷漠。
面对一封她写下 “受害者权利？一派胡言” 的邮件，她表示：“站在 2026 年的今天，大家很容易从这些文字里读出对受害者的冷漠，但这并不是我当时的本意，也绝非我彼时的想法。”
鲁姆勒还透露，2015 年她就和爱泼斯坦沟通过弗吉妮娅・吉夫提出的 “极端指控”。吉夫指控遭到爱泼斯坦性侵，并被其贩卖，被迫服务众多知名人士，其中包括英国安德鲁王子以及多名当时尚未公开身份的政客、商人。鲁姆勒向议员表示，在她看来，吉夫的指控 “缺乏可信依据”。
“凭借我前检察官与辩护律师的从业经验，我认为她提出的部分指控本身先天可信度不足。”
吉夫已于去年自杀离世。她的亲属周三发表声明，指责鲁姆勒 “试图质疑弗吉妮娅的说辞，应当感到羞耻”。
吉夫的哥哥斯凯・罗伯茨与嫂子阿曼达在声明中写道：“真正缺乏可信度的人是凯西・鲁姆勒。她试图让所有人相信，自己完全不知道杰弗里・爱泼斯坦一直在从事性人口贩卖勾当。”
笔录显示，听证会后半段，鲁姆勒态度变得强硬，批评议员揪着她与爱泼斯坦的交往经历反复质询。
“在美国司法体系中，我们依据个人行为追责，不会仅仅因为某人与他人有往来就追究其责任。”
鲁姆勒还指出，委员会部分议员 “曾公开支持一名被多项可信指控指向存在性侵行为的候选人”（她并未点名），以此指责议员双重标准。
“如果我们定下这样一套标准：仅仅因为和被指控、或是已经定罪的罪犯存在交往就要被追责，我认为这会走向十分危险的境地。”
Ex-Goldman Sachs lawyer told panel that Epstein made her firm ＇millions＇ of dollars
Former White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler told the House Oversight Committee that referrals byJeffrey Epsteinmade her law firm ＂single-digit millions＂ of dollars， according to a transcript released Wednesday， providing lawmakers with another example of how the convicted sex offender used his relationships with the wealthy and powerful to benefit his associates．
Ruemmler， who never represented Epstein in any formal capacity but frequently provided him with legal and public relations advice， appeared July 15 in a closed-door session with the panel as part of itsongoing probeof the government＇s handling of the investigations into Epstein．
Ruemmler said Epstein sought her legal advice from time to time ＂as many people do＂ and defended her relationship with Epstein as strictly professional -- but acknowledged that Epstein helped her secure work with French banker Ariane de Rothschild， and that he connected another attorney at her firm with a client in a criminal case．
Ruemmler， who later became Goldman Sachs＇ top lawyer， said she was aware of Epstein＇s2008 guilty pleafor solicitation of a minor for prostitution， but continued to work with him because he expressed ＂remorse， embarrassment， and regret for his conduct．＂
＂I did not see any evidence of ongoing criminal conduct or misconduct of any kind by Mr． Epstein during the time I dealt with him． Second， if I had seen or heard any evidence suggesting that he was abusing women or girls， I would have immediately reported him to law enforcement，＂ she said， according to the transcript．
Summarizing their relationship， Ruemmler told lawmakers that she met with Epstein approximately 20 times between 2014 and 2019 -- and that her final conversation with Epstein was when he called her after his arrest in July 2019．
＂It was a very short conversation， probably less than a minute． And， to the best of my recollection， the only thing that he said was that he＇d been arrested． And my response was， ＇You obviously need to call your lawyer，＇＂ she told the panel．
Ruemmler said that she also attended Epstein＇s subsequent criminal arraignment in Manhattan because she was ＂absolutely shocked that he had been arrested＂ and wanted to update de Rothschild about the case．
＂I had come to have a personal relationship with Ariane de Rothschild， and so I knew that she would want to know， like， what exactly was going on． And so the way to find out exactly what was going on is actually to be there in the courtroom，＂ she said．
A Rothschild bank spokesperson told Reuters earlier this year that de Rothschild was a business acquaintance of Epstein from 2013 to 2019， that she had no knowledge of Epstein＇s conduct， and that she ＂unequivocally condemns his behavior and the crimes which he committed．＂
Ruemmler was pressed by lawmakers about her casual and friendly emails with Epstein， in which she referred to him as ＂Uncle Jeffrey＂ and compared him to a brother．
＂He was extremely arrogant． He was a mansplainer． He was pushy． He was avuncular，＂ Ruemmler said． ＂I， sort of， in a teasing way， referred to him， you know， as ＇Uncle Jeffrey，＇ in a way to not be -- to sort of call him out for the way that he could be quite patronizing．＂
Asked about emails in which she seemingly joked about Epstein＇s crimes -- including referring to ＂Jeffrey＇s type of massage＂ -- Ruemmler acknowledged that in hindsight those messages appear insensitive．
＂I understand why， you know， sitting here in 2026， the emails can come across as if there is callousness to victims． That＇s not what I intended at the time． It wasn＇t my state of mind at the time，＂ she said when asked about an email where she wrote， ＂victim＇s rights， my ass．＂
Ruemmler also acknowledged communicating with Epstein in 2015 about what she called ＂very extreme allegations＂ raised byVirginia Giuffreof being abused by Epstein and trafficked to other prominent men， including Britain＇s Prince Andrew and other then-unnamed politicians and businessmen． Ruemmler told lawmakers that -- in her view -- Giuffre＇s allegations lacked ＂the indicia of credibility that one would expect．＂
＂There were allegations that she made that were， I believed， based on my experience as a former prosecutor and as a defense counsel， that were of such a nature that they were -- they lacked inherent credibility，＂ Ruemmler said．
Family members of Giuffre， whodied by suicidelast year， said in a statement Wednesday that Ruemmler ＂should be ashamed of herself＂ for ＂attempting to cast doubt on Virginia．＂
＂The only person who lacks credibility is Kathy Ruemmler， who is trying to get people to believe she didn＇t know Jeffrey Epstein was actively engaged in sex trafficking，＂ said Sky and Amanda Roberts， Giufrre＇s brother and sister-in-law， in the statement．
Toward the end of the Ruemmler＇s appearance before the panel， she adopted a more aggressive approach and criticized lawmakers for scrutinizing her relationship with Epstein， the transcript indicated．
＂In the American legal system we hold people accountable for their conduct． We don＇t hold people accountable for their associations，＂ she said．
Ruemmler also said that some of the lawmakers on the committee ＂publicly endorsed a candidate who has been credibly accused of sexual assault＂ -- though she did not identify the candidate -- to argue that lawmakers were being hypocritical．
＂And so if we start applying a standard that somehow a mere association with someone who has been accused or， you know， convicted of criminal conduct -- I think that＇s a very dangerous road to go down，＂ she said．
