The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is making a new round of requests for interviews in its long-running Jeffrey Epstein investigation — this time targeting billionaire tech entrepreneur Bill Gates and Kathryn Ruemmler, the former White House counsel under President Barack Obama and the exiting top lawyer at Goldman Sachs.
Oversight Chair James Comer sent letters to Gates and Ruemmler Tuesday evening, asking them to sit for transcribed interviews on May 19 and April 21, respectively, although the dates could change.
Ruemmler will soon resign from Goldman Sachs amid the mounting scrutiny over her close relationship with Epstein. Material released by the Justice Department revealed that Epstein called her when he was arrested for sex crimes.
A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Ruemmler, through a spokesperson, has said previously that she regrets knowing Epstein. She has not been charged with any misconduct.
“Ms. Ruemmler welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee,” said Jennifer Connelly, a spokeswoman for Ruemmler, in a statement. “At the time she interacted with Jeffrey Epstein, she was a practicing criminal defense attorney and shared a client with him. She has done nothing wrong and had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity on his part.”
Gates has not been accused of misconduct in connection with Epstein’s crimes, but his name was featured in the files released by the Justice Department in the Epstein case, including an allegation that he contracted a sexually transmitted disease in an extra-marital affair from a woman Epstein knew.
A spokesperson for Gates has called the claim absurd but did not immediately return a request to comment Tuesday night following the Oversight’s new request for testimony.
Gates and Ruemmler are among a growing number of powerful public figures in the U.S. who are facing a reckoning over their relationships with Epstein.
Brad Karp, the former chair of the legal giant Paul Weiss, left his post atop the firm amid the fallout over his communications with Epstein.
Earlier Tuesday, Comer announced Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to speak with his panel after correspondence released by DOJ showed that Lutnick maintained ties to Epstein following the disgraced financier’s 2008 sex crime conviction.
Lutnick has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
Last week, House Oversight members traveled to Chappaqua, New York, to interview Bill and Hillary Clinton, who also maintained they had no knowledge of Epstein’s misconduct — nor has evidence suggested they were involved in illicit activities.
In the coming weeks, the panel plans to interview the co-executors of Epstein’s estate
Others being called to testify before House Oversight are Doug Band, co-founder of the CEO advisory firm Teneo and a former aide to former President Bill Clinton; Leon Black, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management; and Ted Waitt, a former romantic partner of Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
None of them have been found guilty of wrongdoing. Band did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did spokespeople for Black and Waitt.
Lesley Groff and Sarah Kellen, two of Epstein’s assistants who have been identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the 2008 non-prosecution agreement with Epstein, also received letters from Comer. They could not be reached for comment.
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