Robert Mueller, former special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, died Friday.

Mueller, also former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was 81.

“With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away” on Friday night, his family said in a statement Saturday. “His family asks that their privacy be respected.”

MS Now first reported the news on Saturday.

Mueller concluded in 2019 that Russia interfered in the election in an effort to influence voters towards President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The Russia investigation and Mueller himself swiftly became lightning rods for Trump, who over the years has repeatedly called the probe a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”

Shortly after Mueller’s death was reported, Trump said in a Truth Social post, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead.”

He added, “He can no longer hurt innocent people!”

Mueller was the second-longest-serving director in FBI history, behind only J. Edgar Hoover. He began his tenure just one week before the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, which became the catalyst for turning the agency’s priority from solving domestic crimes to fighting terrorism.

Mueller stayed in the post for 12 years after then-President Barack Obama asked him to remain on following his 10-year term. He entered private practice after leaving in 2013.

The White House has choked off Cuba’s oil supply and threatened a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island, against a backdrop of military operations in Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump is implying the country is his next target, saying: “Whether I free it, take it,  I think I can do anything I want with it. They’re a very weakened nation right now.” The oil shortage is bringing Cuba’s economy to the brink. But I’ve found myself thinking back when, not that long ago, it briefly looked like the two nations would normalize relations after decades of hostility.

I first landed in Havana in March 2012 to cover Pope Benedict XVI’s visit. The airport was small. I had to repeatedly explain to immigration officials that we were there as journalists, that we had permission, and that everything had been cleared in advance. I was grateful that my team spoke Spanish to help with the process.

Parts of the city felt strangely familiar from images I’d seen of faded pastel buildings and old American cars somehow still running on patched-together parts.

Cuba and the U.S. had been geopolitical foes for more than 50 years. Cuba became communist when the 1959 revolution brought Fidel Castro to power and the island nation, just 90 miles from Florida, strengthened its ties with the Soviet Union. The Cuban government seized U.S. property and American-owned businesses in response to a growing U.S embargo. In response, President John F. Kennedy formalized a full embargo in 1962. Supplies of food, fuel, and consumer goods quickly became scarce.

But being there, I sensed that something was beginning to shift.

Between 2012 and 2016, I made 10 trips, field producing for CNBC with international correspondent Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. Almost every visit seemed to line up with something significant — moments that felt like they might mark a turning point. But by the end, that momentum felt suddenly uncertain.

On my first visit, Havana was trying to look ready for a pope. Fresh paint lined parts of the Malecón, still drying in places along the route the pope was expected to travel. In a country shaped for decades by communism, his presence felt like more than a religious event. It felt like a signal, subtle but unmistakable, that Cuba might be opening up.

After that, things started to move quickly.

Less than a year later, the government invited a small group of journalists, including us, to see what it called “reforms” up close. We spoke with the central bank governor, and with small business owners trying to navigate a system that was changing, but not all at once.

We slipped away from the official itinerary and made our way to Hershey, Cuba, a town Milton Hershey built to secure sugar for his chocolate business in the early 20th century. It was one of several reminders of Cuba’s American past before its revolution. A former Coca-Cola factory had been repurposed by the state. A Western Union building housed the country’s telecom company. A Woolworth’s store had become a local discount store.

In July 2015, President Barack Obama announced the restoration of diplomatic ties. We moved quickly, out of New York, down to Miami, then onto a charter flight to Havana. On the ground, there was a real sense of excitement. But it wasn’t unguarded. People were hopeful, but careful.

A month later, the U.S. embassy reopened for the first time in more than 50 years. I watched the flag go up from the balcony of a crumbling apartment building across the street. For younger Cubans especially, it felt like a turning point: More opportunities, more access, more choice seemed within reach.

Obama’s visit the following March only added to that feeling. Travel restrictions for Americans were relaxed and limited trade began to restart. The embargo was still in place, as it is written into U.S. law, but it did slightly soften.

That week brought a Rolling Stones concert and a Major League Baseball game, the first on the island in years.

Even then, there was restraint. Cubans had learned not to get ahead of themselves. For many, optimism came with the memory of how quickly it could fade. After all, not everyone believed the United States should reopen relations with the country. Many argued that normalizing ties would reward the communist government without forcing meaningful reforms.

Still, things were changing. In 2016, Carnival Cruise Line, under its Fathom brand, docked in Havana, the first U.S. cruise ship to visit the island since 1978. By November, JetBlue had direct flights running from New York. For a time, it felt like the barriers were coming down in real time.

Reporting there was never simple. Permits could fall through without warning. Phones rarely worked. Wi-Fi was hard to find. Restaurants handed out long menus, but when you asked, you were often told the only thing available was rice and beans. I’d walk past buildings with elegant facades, only to step inside and find them hollowed out, crumbling, little more than dust and debris.

And yet, on each trip, you could see small signs that the transformation was continuing. Family-run restaurants began opening in people’s homes. Airbnb listings started to spread. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was there.

My final trip came in November 2016, just after Fidel Castro’s death, to cover his funeral. He’d ceded power to his brother Raoul years earlier, but the death of the man who symbolized the revolution was a huge moment.

This time, Havana was quiet.

Music stopped. Alcohol disappeared. The city entered a formal mourning period. People stood in long lines to sign condolence books.

From the outside, it looked like a clear ending. Inside Cuba, it didn’t feel that simple.

Standing there, it was hard not to feel that the energy of the previous years was slipping away. The same questions kept coming back. What happens now? What becomes of the reforms? Of the relationship with the United States?

When I left for the last time, I had the sense I’d witnessed something rare, a brief stretch of time when history seemed to accelerate, when long-standing patterns loosened, even if only slightly, and the future felt, for a moment, open.

In the years since, much of that momentum has slowed, and in some cases reversed. The U.S. withdrew embassy personnel, new travel limits were imposed in November 2017, and the flow of American visitors thinned. The opening that once felt within reach has given way to more familiar tensions, which are flaring like the changes I saw never happened.

History doesn’t always arrive with a clear beginning or a clean ending. In Cuba, it has a tendency to circle back on itself.

What comes next between these two neighbors is still unwritten.

President Donald Trump late Saturday called on Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice or “pay the consequences,” after she said Democrats would push for corporate accountability if they regain power in the November midterm elections.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump described Rice, who served as President Joe Biden’s domestic policy chief and held top foreign policy posts under President Barack Obama, as “purely a political hack” with “no talent or skills.”

“HER POWER IS GONE, AND WILL NEVER BE BACK,” Trump wrote.

Rice argued during a podcast last week that “it is not going to end well” for corporations, news organizations, and law firms that “bent the knee” to Trump, and that their deference is unpopular.

“There is likely to be a swing in the other direction, and they are going to be caught with more than their pants down,” Rice told Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box.”

She added, “If these corporations think that Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to play by the old rules, and say, ‘Never mind, we will forgive you for all the people you fired and all the policies and principles you violated, all the laws you skirted,’ I think they got another thing coming.”

Rice served on Netflix’s board from 2018 to 2021, and rejoined in 2023 after leaving the Biden administration.

Netflix representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump included a screenshot of an earlier post from far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer, who said Rice’s remarks were “anti-American” and urged the president to “kill the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger now.” Loomer also tagged Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr in her post.

The comments come after Trump told NBC News earlier this month that the Department of Justice will “handle” the deal and that he’ll stay out of their review, after previously saying he’d be involved in the process. The DOJ is currently reviewing Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Netflix has proposed acquiring WBD in a $72 billion deal that would not include the company’s cable networks, including CNN.

Paramount Skydance, in response, launched a hostile takeover bid for all of WBD, promising its shareholders $30 per share in an all-cash deal.

The DOJ is investigating whether Netflix’s proposed deal could hurt competition, and it’s also asked how the company’s previous acquisitions have affected competition for creative talent, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

As part of its review, the agency is also examining whether the streaming giant uses anticompetitive tactics in negotiations with independent content creators for acquiring programming, Bloomberg reported, citing documents.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last month that he’s confident the company will be able to secure regulatory approval “because this deal is pro-consumer … pro-innovation, pro-worker.”

The recent release by the Department of Justice of millions of pages of emails and other documents related to the notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein has led to a wave of resignations and other uncomfortable fallout for high-profile people around the world whose dealings with him have been exposed.

Those individuals include the top lawyer at the major investment bank Goldman Sachs, the CEO of Dubai’s largest port, a former president of Harvard University, a former U.S. president and ex-secretary of State, and the chairman of a leading American corporate law firm.

The fallout from the Epstein files and people mentioned in them has even imperiled the government of United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, even though the Labour Party leader never knew the convicted sex offender.

Epstein, who cultivated relationships with many rich and powerful men and women, pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to state criminal charges related to soliciting prostitution, with one charge related to a girl under the age of 18.

He ended up serving 13 months in prison in that case, but was allowed to go to his office many days for work.

In August 2019, Epstein killed himself in a jail in New York City, weeks after being arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges.

A number of the people who have resigned their jobs in recent weeks had friendly dealings with Epstein after his 2008 conviction, which was widely publicized at the time.

Being mentioned in the Epstein files does not mean that someone was implicated in any of the crimes that he previously pleaded guilty to, or was later charged with. No one on the list of names compiled by CNBC of those affected by their association with Epstein has been charged for such conduct.

Here are some high-profile figures who have been burned by their appearances in the Epstein files:

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem: CEO of DP World

Sulayem resigned as CEO of Dubai’s largest port operator on Feb. 13, after leading the company for 10 years. Documents showed Epstein once referring to Sulayem as one of his “most trusted friends.” CNBC has reached out to the government of Dubai Media Office and DP World, seeking comment from Sulayem, who to date has not issued a statement on the situation.

Kathryn Ruemmler: Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Goldman Sachs

Ruemmler, a former White House counsel under then-President Barack Obama, announced her resignation from Goldman Sachs on Feb. 12, effective at the end of June. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ruemmler was one of three people Epstein called when he was arrested in July 2019. She once thanked Epstein after receiving luxury gifts from him, calling him “Uncle Jeffrey.” Ruemmler told the Journal in January: “As I have said, I regret ever knowing him, and I have enormous sympathy for the victims of Epstein’s crimes.” 

Brad Karp: Chairman of Paul Weiss

Karp resigned as chairman of Paul Weiss on Feb. 4, after leading the major corporate law firm since 2008. Files show Karp thanking Epstein for a “once in a lifetime” evening in 2015, and asking if he could help his son land a job on a Woody Allen film in 2016. Days before he resigned, Paul Weiss issued a statement to The New York Times saying, “Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets.”

David Gelernter: Yale University computer science professor

Gelernter was barred from teaching classes at Yale on Feb. 11 as the university conducts a review of his relationship with Epstein. Gelernter had extensive email communications with Epstein, which included one 2011 missive in which the professor recommended a Yale student for a project, referring to her as a “small goodlooking blonde.” Gelernter has not responded to CNBC’s requests for comment after Yale took action.

Bill Clinton: Former U.S. president

Clinton flew on Epstein’s private plane multiple times in 2002 and 2003, and was photographed in casual social settings with Epstein and the sex offender’s now-convicted procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell. Clinton initially resisted a subpoena by the House Oversight Committee to testify about Epstein, but agreed to appear after it threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress. Clinton is due to testify on Feb. 27. Clinton’s spokesman in 2019 issued a statement saying, “President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York.” Clinton on Feb. 7 retweeted a post on X from his spokesman that said, “What DOJ has released thus far, and the manner in which it has done so, makes one thing clear: someone or something is being protected. We don’t know who, what, or why. We do know this: we need no such protection. It’s why only the Clintons have called for a public hearing.”

Hillary Clinton: Former secretary of State

Hillary Clinton, who is married to the former president, has said she does not recall ever speaking to Epstein. Despite that, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed her to testify for its inquiry into the predator. Like former President Clinton, the former secretary of State initially refused to appear, but then agreed to testify on Feb. 26 after being threatened with a contempt finding. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14, Clinton again called for the release of all of the Epstein files, saying, “It is something that needs to be totally transparent,” The Independent reported. “I’ve called for many, many years for everything to be put out there so people can not only see what’s in them but also, if appropriate, hold people accountable. We’ll see what happens,” she said.

Peter Mandelson: UK ambassador to the U.S.

Mandelson was fired by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sep. 12 and resigned from the Labour Party on Feb. 2 over his ties to Epstein. Mandelson wrote a note in Epstein’s 50th Birthday Book, addressing him as “my best pal,” and has been accused of sending Epstein market-sensitive government information following the 2008 financial crisis. Mandelson, in comments to the Financial Times in February 2025, said, “I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner Ghislaine Maxwell.” He also said, “I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women. I’m not going to go into this. It’s an FT obsession and frankly you can all f— off. OK?”

Morgan McSweeney: Chief of Staff to the U.K. prime minister

McSweeney resigned Feb. 11, taking responsibility for Starmer’s appointment of Mandelson as ambassador. McSweeney told reporters, “The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong,” adding that the former ambassador “damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.”

Larry Summers: OpenAI board member and former Harvard University president

Summers announced in November that he would step back from public commitments, including serving as a board member at the artificial intelligence company OpenAI and teaching classes as a professor at Harvard. The former Treasury secretary was named as a backup executor in a 2014 version of Epstein’s will. Summers, in a statement in November, said, “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: Former prince, Duke of York

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was stripped of his titles and mansion in a statement from Buckingham Palace on Oct. 30. Mountbatten-Windsor settled a lawsuit filed by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in 2022 without admitting wrongdoing, and is being investigated by authorities in London for claims that he sent Epstein confidential trade documents. In a 2019 statement, Mountbatten-Windsor said, “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”

Sarah Ferguson: Former Duchess of York

Ferguson’s charity, Sarah’s Trust, which focused on improving the lives of women and children, announced on Feb. 2 that it would be shutting down. The ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor described Epstein as “a legend” and “the brother I have always wished for” in emails long after his first conviction in 2008. In a statement to the Guardian last September, a spokesperson for Ferguson said, “The duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims.”

Jack Lang: President of the Arab World Institute and former Culture minister of France

Lang, the highest-profile figure in France affected by the files, resigned as president of the Arab World Institute on Feb. 7 after leading the cultural center since 2013. Lang was mentioned more than 600 times in newly released files dating back to 2012 when he was introduced to Epstein by their mutual friend Woody Allen, according to The New York Times. French authorities have said they are investigating reports of financial connections between Lang and Epstein, with the financial prosecutor’s office probing Lang and his daughter, Caroline, on suspicion of “aggravated tax fraud laundering.” Lang has called the allegations against him “baseless,” and said the investigation “will bring much light on to the accusations that are questioning my probity and my honour.” His daughter denies any wrongdoing.

Mona Juul: Norwegian ambassador

Juul resigned on Feb. 8 after Norway’s foreign ministry suspended her earlier in the week. She resigned after reports that her children and husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, were left $10 million in a will written by Epstein two days before his suicide. Juul said in early February that she had contact with Epstein through Rød-Larsen, but also said that she “should have been much more careful.”

Miroslav Lajčák: National security advisor to the prime minister of Slovakia and former president of the UN General Assembly

Lajčák resigned Jan. 31 after serving four Slavic governments. Messages from 2018 show Lajčák discussing women with Epstein, writing, “Why don’t you invite me for these games? I would take the ‘MI’ girl.” Lajčák reportedly told Radio Slovakia, “When I read those messages today, I feel like a fool.” He said in the same interview that he had shown “poor judgment and inappropriate communication … Those messages were nothing more than foolish male egos in action, self-satisfied male banter.” He added, “There were no girls … the fact that someone is communicating with a sexual predator does not make him a sexual predator.”

David Ross: Chair of New York’s School of Visual Arts

Ross, formerly the director of the Whitney Museum, resigned as the chair of the Master of Fine Arts in art practice at SVA on Feb. 3. Ross called Epstein “incredible” after he suggested an exhibit featuring girls and boys aged 14-25 titled “Statutory.” Ross told The New York Times that he regretted being “taken in” by Epstein’s claim that he had been the victim of a political frame-up because of his connection to Bill Clinton. “I continue to be appalled by his crimes and remain deeply concerned for its many victims,” he told the Times.

Joanna Rubinstein: Chair of Sweden for the UN Refugee Agency

Rubinstein announced her resignation on Feb. 2 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees after documents unveiled a 2012 family visit to Epstein’s private island. In an email, Rubinstein thanked Epstein for “an afternoon in paradise” on behalf of her children and herself. “I was aware of the verdict at the time of the visit. What has subsequently emerged about the extent of the abuse is appalling and something I strongly distance myself from,” Rubinstein told the Swedish newspaper Expressen.

Casey Wasserman: Founder, Chairman and CEO of Wasserman talent agency; Chairman of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Wasserman, owner of a high-profile talent and marketing agency and the chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, began the process of selling his company after emails between him and Maxwell from over 20 years ago were made public. Following the revelations, several clients, including Grammy winner Chappell Roan, announced they were leaving the agency. Wasserman said he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein” and that he’d “become a distraction” in a memo to his staff, which was reported by The Wall Street Journal. The Journal also reported, citing people familiar with the situation, that the committee organizing the LA Olympic Games had voted unanimously to keep Wasserman as chairman.

Steve Tisch: Chairman and co-owner of the New York Giants

The National Football League announced Feb. 2 that it will look into Tisch, a former film producer who has been the Giants’ executive vice president since 2005. Tisch was named over 400 times in the files, with one document showing that he asked Epstein whether women were “pro or civilian.” In a January statement to ESPN, Tisch said, “We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments.” Tisch added, “I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

Thorbjørn Jagland: Former prime minister of Norway

Jagland was charged with “aggravated corruption” on Feb. 12 after a police probe into his ties with Epstein. Jagland, who served as Norway’s prime minister from 1996 to 1997, is being investigated to see whether “gifts, travel and loans were received in connection with his position,” according to investigators. A 2014 email shows a planned visit for Jagland and his family to Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Jagland’s lawyers have said he “denies all the charges.”

Jes Staley: CEO of Barclays

Staley served as CEO of Barclays from October 2015 until his resignation in late 2021. Staley’s departure followed a probe by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority into his relationship with Epstein. The regulator fined him more than $2 million and permanently banned him from holding a management role in the sector in 2023. In 2020, Staley said, “Obviously I thought I knew him well and I didn’t. For sure, with hindsight with what we know now, I deeply regret having any relationship with Jeffrey.”

Alex Acosta: U.S. Labor secretary

Acosta announced his resignation in a letter to President Donald Trump on July 12, 2019, following controversy over his striking a federal non-prosecution deal with Epstein in 2008 when he was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Acosta defended that deal — which had required Epstein to plead guilty to Florida state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution — in six hours of testimony in September to the House Oversight Committee. “I testified for six hours. I’ll let the record speak for itself,” Acosta said after the hearing.

— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this report.

WATCH: Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick admits visiting Epstein island during family vacation

Top Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler said Thursday night that she will leave the investment bank at the end of June, a decision that came after a flurry of news articles highlighting documents detailing the former White House counsel’s often chummy email conversations with the notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Goldman, for months, has defended Ruemmler after Congress and then the Department of Justice released emails between her and Epstein, as well as other documents related to investigations of him.

Ruemmler, who has been a key advisor to Goldman CEO David Solomon since joining the bank in 2020, told The Financial Times on Thursday, “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction.”

The FT first reported the 54-year-old’s decision to leave Goldman.

“Since I joined Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm’s legal, reputational, and regulatory matters; to enhance our strong risk management processes; and to ensure that we live by our core value of integrity in everything we do,” Ruemmler said in a statement to CNBC.

“My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first,” Ruemmler said.

“Earlier today, I regretfully informed David Solomon of my intention to step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026.”

Solomon, in a statement, said, “Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm.”

“As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed. I accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision,” Solomon said.

Her announcement that she will leave Goldman comes nearly a week after The Wall Street Journal reported that Ruemmler was one of three people whom Epstein called on July 6, 2019, after being arrested by federal authorities on child sex trafficking charges at an airport in New Jersey.

The Journal’s report cites a handwritten set of notes by law enforcement about comments Epstein made inside an FBI vehicle after his arrest.

Those notes are among documents released in late January by the Department of Justice, CNBC has confirmed.

Other news articles detailed emails and documents showing how Epstein had made gifts to Ruemmler that included a Hermes bag, and other luxury items, such as a Fendi purse, spa visits, Bergdorf Goodman gift cards and flowers. On one occasion, she effusively thanked him, calling him “Uncle Jeffrey,” one email showed.

Ruemmler was a white-collar criminal defense lawyer at the firm Latham & Watkins during the years she was speaking with Epstein, whom she met in 2014.

An Aug. 14, 2014, email contained in the DOJ’s Epstein files shows how he asked her to represent his client, Bank Edmond de Rothschild.

“They have a justice department problem … like every other swiss bank,” Epstein wrote her.

Ruemmler took the bank as a client for Latham.

Ruemmler has said that she never represented Epstein, who killed himself in a New York federal jail weeks after his 2019 arrest.

Ruemmler’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Connelly, told the Journal for its story last Friday, “These documents are consistent with what Ms. Ruemmler has repeatedly said: She knew Epstein when she was a criminal defense attorney and shared a client with him.”

“She was friendly with him in that context. She had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part,” Connelly said.

Ruemmler previously served as White House counsel under former President Barack Obama.

She is the latest person to lose a high-profile position because of her prior association with Epstein.

On Sunday, Morgan Sweeney resigned as chief of staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying he took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States. Starmer fired Mandelson from that post in September over disclosures about his connection to Epstein.

Last week, Brad Karp, chairman of the major corporate law firm Paul Weiss, resigned from that post after fallout over emails between him and Epstein. Karp is staying at the firm.

“In response to the Epstein emails, a Paul Weiss spokesman previously said, “Mr. Karp never witnessed or participated in any misconduct. Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets.”

Karp said he was leaving the chairman’s post because of the distraction of the news stories.

In November, after a congressional committee released emails between Ruemmler and Epstein, Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto told CNBC, “These emails were private correspondence well before Kathy Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs.”

“Kathy is an exceptional general counsel and we benefit from her judgment every day,” Fratto said at the time.

Ruemmler has previously told the Journal that she regrets ever knowing Epstein.

Among the new tranche of emails that the DOJ released in late January is one that Ruemmler sent Epstein in March 2019, four months before his arrest.

In that email, she offered advice on how to respond to criticism that he had previously received special treatment and a light punishment in 2008 because of his wealth and political connections when he avoided federal prosecution in exchange for pleading guilty in Florida state court to a charge of soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. 

At the time Epstein sought Ruemmler’s advice, he had been the subject of a series of articles in the Miami Herald that were critical of the decision by federal prosecutors not to file charges against him in 2008. Epstein ended up serving just 13 months in state prison in Florida, but was allowed out to go to his office during the day for much of that time.

The subject line of the email thread, “From wapo,” suggests that Epstein was reaching out to Ruemmler because of an inquiry by The Washington Post about him.

Ruemmler wrote in the email: “Something like: … ‘The criticism is wrong and reflects a fundamental [misunderstanding] of both the facts underlying Mr. Epstein’s case and how it was [prosecuted] by both local and federal authorities.”

“Far from [receiving] a sweetheart deal, Mr. Epstein was subjected to a lengthy, aggressive, [and] highly unusual federal investigation for what were, in essence, local [offenses] of sexual solicitation,” Ruemmler wrote. “He accepted responsibility, served [time and] prison, and paid significant monetary settlements to the victims [involved].”

Ruemmler, in a bracketed section, also suggested saying something like, “But for his wealth, it is hard to imagine that Mr. Epstein … would have received the aggressive treatment that he did from [federal] prosecutors, and he certainly would never have been subjected to the [salacious] and malicious treatment by the media that he continues to receive more than 10 years after the case was resolved.”