{"id":5784,"date":"2026-07-30T23:00:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T23:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/30\/ex-white-house-counsel-says-epstein-accusers-testimony-lacked-inherent-credibility\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T23:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T23:00:48","slug":"ex-white-house-counsel-says-epstein-accusers-testimony-lacked-inherent-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5784","title":{"rendered":"Ex-White House counsel says Epstein accuser\u2019s testimony \u2018lacked inherent credibility\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"dcae9994-77d2-4083-ba2b-e7d278d87655\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A middle-aged woman in glasses walks in a corridor surrounded by other people.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/0b054ad229675c3cf3132f68d3a346c60b1c0de8\/262_25_1320_1056\/master\/1320.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Kathryn Ruemmler arrives for a House committee hearing regarding her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, on 15 July 2026 in Washington DC.<\/span> Photograph: Rod Lamkey\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"dcae9994-77d2-4083-ba2b-e7d278d87655\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Kathryn Ruemmler arrives for a House committee hearing regarding her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, on 15 July 2026 in Washington DC.<\/span> Photograph: Rod Lamkey\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Ex-White House counsel says Epstein accuser\u2019s testimony \u2018lacked inherent credibility\u2019<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Kathryn Ruemmler was blasted by family of late Virginia Giuffre after House committee transcripts were released<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/feb\/17\/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB\" data-link-name=\"in standfirst link\">Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A former White House counsel and former general counsel of Goldman Sachs, who has faced scrutiny over her past ties to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/jeffrey-epstein\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, told a House committee this month that some of the allegations made by one of his most prominent accusers \u201clacked inherent credibility\u201d, according to newlyreleased transcripts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Kathryn Ruemmler\u2019s name appeared <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/finance\/kathryn-ruemmler-digs-in-at-goldman-complicating-search-for-next-general-counsel-e9e37afc\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">thousands of times<\/a> in records related to Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, that were released earlier this year by the US Department of Justice under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The files revealed Ruemmler had accepted gifts from Epstein, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2019\/aug\/10\/jeffrey-epstein-dead-prison-report-latest\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">died by suicide<\/a> while awaiting trial in 2019 after he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2019\/jul\/07\/jeffrey-epstein-charged-with-sex-trafficking-reports-say\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">arrested by federal authorities<\/a>, at times addressed him as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/epstein\/files\/DataSet%2011\/EFTA02605815.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u201cUncle Jeffrey<\/a>\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/epstein\/files\/DataSet%2011\/EFTA02563658.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u201csweetie<\/a>\u201d in emails, and offered him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/12\/business\/goldman-lawyer-kathryn-ruemmler-resigns.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">informal advice<\/a> on how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/litigation\/goldman-sachs-top-lawyer-accepted-gifts-uncle-jeffrey-epstein-documents-show-2026-02-03\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">respond to<\/a> questions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/1fdb1850-7ff8-4ca5-bc91-f4b683aad063?syn-25a6b1a6=1\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">about <\/a>his sex crimes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ruemmler\u2019s testimony before Congress when she was asked about Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Epstein\u2019s abuse, was swiftly criticized by Giuffre\u2019s family. \u201cShe should be ashamed of herself,\u201d Giuffre\u2019s brother and sister-in-law, Sky and Amanda Roberts, said in a statement. Giuffre <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/apr\/26\/virginia-giuffre-suicide-dead-aged-41\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">died by suicide in April 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"2dcda1ee-50e4-47d0-8ef9-f2e701c53fa5\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-4 | 4\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/29\/ghislaine-maxwell-pardon-senate-resolution\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">Senate unanimously passes resolution opposing pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cDo you believe that Virginia Giuffre was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell?\u201d the House oversight committee asked Ruemmler, who served as the White House counsel in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/obama-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Obama administration<\/a>, during her interview with the panel earlier this month part of its investigation into Epstein.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she responded, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ruemmler-Final-Transcript_Redact-7.28.26.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">a transcript<\/a> released on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ruemmler went on to add: \u201cIf she says that she was, I don\u2019t have a reason to doubt that. However, 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 \u2013 they lacked inherent credibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cTypically, when someone says, I was sex trafficked to someone, they say who, when, where, not multiple world leaders, multiple foreign presidents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Her remarks were condemned by Giuffre\u2019s brother and sister-in-law, who said in a statement that it as \u201creprehensible\u201d to \u201cattempt to cast doubt on Virginia, whose bravery was the reason so many other survivors stepped forward, resulting in more than 50 people having to step down from their positions of power\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">They said that \u201cthe only person who lacks credibility is Kathy Ruemmler\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Giuffre, one of Epstein\u2019s most prominent accusers, had previously testified and alleged that Epstein and Maxwell had abused her as a teenager, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2022\/feb\/15\/prince-andrew-and-virginia-giuffre-reach-settlement-in-principle\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">trafficked her to powerful men<\/a>, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk\/prince-andrew\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a>, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2022\/feb\/15\/prince-andrew-and-virginia-giuffre-reach-settlement-in-principle\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">repeatedly denied<\/a> the allegations against him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Jennifer Connelly, a spokesperson for Ruemmler, said in a statement: <em>\u201c<\/em>As Ms Ruemmler told the committee, she had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity by Epstein and there is not a shred of evidence to suggest otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cMs Ruemmler would never turn a blind eye to any criminal activity and if she had seen or heard anything to suggest that Epstein was harming women or girls, she would have taken action to stop it,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Another representative for Ruemmler also told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/29\/politics\/kathy-ruemmler-epstein\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">CNN<\/a> in a statement \u2013 before Giuffre\u2019s family members had issued their statement \u2013 that Ruemmler \u201cwas responding to a specific discussion about specific allegations\u201d and was \u201cexpressing skepticism regarding particular claims that had not been substantiated, not every allegation Ms Giuffre ever made\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The transcript was released about two weeks after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/15\/obama-kathryn-ruemmler-epstein-questions\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Ruemmler appeared before the<\/a> committee. She was called to testify after the Epstein files revealed dozens of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/age-verify?destination=\/epstein\/files\/DataSet%2010\/EFTA01745942.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">emails<\/a> between her and Epstein between 2014 and 2019. At one point she had been listed as a backup executor of his will, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/finance\/epstein-once-listed-goldmans-general-counsel-as-an-executor-on-his-will-23d219d8?mod=article_inline\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ruemmler told lawmakers during the interview that they had a professional relationship and that Epstein had \u201cused\u201d her \u201cto legitimize his standing\u201d and that \u201cit was a mistake to deal with\u201d him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">She insisted that she never saw any \u201cevidence of ongoing criminal conduct or misconduct of any kind by Epstein during the time I dealt with him\u201d and also told lawmakers that \u201cmany\u201d of her emails with Epstein had been \u201ctaken out of context or do not mean what some have speculated or suggested\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ruemmler announced in February that she would be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/feb\/12\/goldman-sachs-lawyer-resigns-jeffrey-epstein\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">resigning from her role<\/a> at Goldman Sachs as chief legal officer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/jeffrey-epstein\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/ghislaine-maxwell\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/business\/goldmansachs\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Goldman Sachs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/obama-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Obama administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/house-of-representatives\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">House of Representatives<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-congress\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ex-White%20House%20counsel%20says%20Epstein%20accuser%E2%80%99s%20testimony%20%E2%80%98lacked%20inherent%20credibility%E2%80%99&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/30\/kathryn-ruemmler-epstein-files-virginia-giuffre?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F30%2Fkathryn-ruemmler-epstein-files-virginia-giuffre&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/30\/kathryn-ruemmler-epstein-files-virginia-giuffre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kathryn Ruemmler arrives for a House committee hearing regarding her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, on 15 July 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}