Several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein were left “appalled” Friday following The New York Times’ essay that some said “whitewashed” the reputation of a key Epstein associate, an individual who, according to famed reporter Julie K. Brown, “enabled Epstein over the years.”
The Times published a guest essay Thursday about Kathryn Ruemmler, the former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, whose past ties to Epstein sparked her departure from Goldman Sachs earlier this year. She is not, however, facing any accusations of unlawful conduct related to Epstein.
Ruemmler was exposed earlier this year for having accepted gifts from Epstein between 2014 and 2019, and for advising Epstein on “how to respond to media questions about his legal treatment.” She also referred to Epstein as “Uncle Jeffrey,” and, according to Brown, made “various justifications for overlooking [Epstein’s] criminal conduct with underage girls.”
In the guest essay, legal analyst Ankush Khardori argued that the involvement of attorneys Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr in Epstein’s 2007 prosecution for soliciting prostitution from a minor seemed, for Ruemmler, “further proof of [Epstein’s] relative innocence.”
The sentence, Brown argued, was “laughable.”
“Ruemmler assumed that because two lawyers of such upstanding character represented Epstein – and were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work – Epstein must be innocent?” Brown wrote.
“One victim texted me: ‘O.J. [Simpson] must be innocent too!’ Dershowitz, one of the defense lawyers on Simpson’s so-called 'Dream Team,' doesn’t like when anyone points out that he too was accused by Virginia Giuffre of sexual assault, an allegation she later withdrew after years of persecution by the relentless counselor. But not before she was on the record about the abuse,” Brown wrote.
Khardori also noted in the essay that “most white-collar lawyers I know have been unwilling to condemn her,” given that Ruemmler's association with Epstein was “business as usual for the top ranks of the legal profession.”
A lawyer who contacted Brown about the essay fiercely disputed Khardori's characterization of the legal profession.
“WHAT SHE DID IS NOT NORMAL,” the lawyer wrote to Brown, writing on the condition of anonymity. “It is not typical for a big-firm, white-shoe lawyer to continue to fraternize with, get business through, and accept gifts from someone convicted of crimes such as his.”
As for The Times publishing the essay to begin with – which Brown argued had failed to “balance” Ruemmler's “desire to rewrite history” with the appropriate “facts and context” – Elizabeth Stein, a human trafficking specialist and Epstein survivor, issued the publication some harsh words.
“I am appalled that the New York Times Editorial Board would give Kathy Ruemmler a platform to present ‘her side of the story’ about Jeffrey Epstein, whitewash her reputation, and effectively excuse her conduct,” Stein said in a statement released Thursday, Brown reported.
