House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a letter reviewed by The Post that the panel believes Ruemmler holds key insights for its wide-ranging Epstein investigation.

She was set to appear for the congressional grilling on April 21. It would come after high-profile appearances from Bill and Hillary Clinton last week before the committee.

Ruemmler is set to appear for the congressional grilling on April 21. It comes after a high-profile appearance from Bill and Hillary Clinton last week before the committee. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The existence of the letter was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

“Ms. Ruemmler welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee. At the time she interacted with Jeffrey Epstein, she was a practicing criminal defense attorney and shared a client with him,” a rep for the top lawyer told The Post. “She has done nothing wrong and had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity on his part.”

A Goldman Sachs spokesperson declined to comment.

Ruemmler, a former Obama White House counsel, announced last month that she would step down from Goldman later this year amid mounting revelations about her Epstein connections.

She maintains the relationship was purely professional — sharing a client and occasionally advising him — but that she regrets knowing the financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting a sex trafficking trial.

Ruemmler’s name surfaced in reporting by the Journal as one of Epstein’s closest post-conviction regulars, despite his 2008 guilty plea to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Epstein listed her as backup executor in a 2019 draft of a will, called her the night of his arrest, and exchanged chatty emails laced with luxury gifts — tens of thousands of dollars in wine, handbags, and more.

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in jail as he awaited trial on charges of sex trafficking minors Courtesy of Ross Catanzarite

She dubbed the creep “Uncle Jeffrey” and “sweetie,” describing him as “another older brother” in one missive.

Ruemmler joined Goldman in 2020 after disclosing the connection to executives, who said they conducted due diligence and were “satisfied.”

CEO David Solomon stood by her, calling her an “excellent lawyer” amid a media firestorm that was sparked by a Justice Department document dump regarding the dead pedophile.

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But the continued drip of negative stories fueled unease among the financial giant’s partners, with her role seen as a distraction, according to Bloomberg.

“I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction,” Ruemmler said of her planned June 30 exit to the Financial Times.

Her resignation marks high-profile Wall Street fallout from Epstein’s relationships with the elite of global finance, politics, and business.

Former President Bill Clinton appeared alongside his wife, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, before the Oversight Committee. via REUTERS

Britain’s Peter Mandelson lost his plum role as the UK ambassador to the United States after fresh information emerged about his relationship with the shady financier.

Ruemmler’s testimony could shed light on his access to power players on both sides of the Atlantic, after the pair was found to be sharing their thoughts on media strategy and career advice in their lengthy correspondence.

Epstein’s 2019 death — ruled a suicide but dogged by conspiracy theories — followed his arrest on charges of running a sex-trafficking ring involving minors. His British madam, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently serving a 20-year term on similar charges.

Ruemmler’s White House stint under Obama burnished her elite resume, leading to a stint at the prestigious law firm Latham & Watkins before she joined Goldman.

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Ruemmler, who dealt with Epstein through one of her legal clients, is mentioned thousands of times in the Epstein files. But that one crude remark by Epstein, and her bland response made her situation untenable even if people close to her tell me it was intended to deflect from his rudeness.

“That email did it,” according to one person close to Ruemmler who was in contact with her up until the time of her resignation.

Kathy Ruemmler’s resignation was spurred by an email about Jeffrey Epstein making a crude remark about his penis, alluding to masturbation, and Ruemmler’s bland response. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

“It was just too much to explain away to friends and others even if there was an innocent explanation. She was tired. She wanted it all to end.”

The message dates to 2015, when Ruemmler, a former prosecutor, was a top lawyer at the firm Latham & Watkins, where she landed after serving as White House counsel for the Obama Administration.

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Unlike many of the people in Epstein’s now infamous circle of friends, Ruemmler stumbled into her relationship with the convicted perv not because she needed something, but through her work for another client, the Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild Group.

The understanding was that Epstein, even though he’d plead guilty in 2008 for soliciting sex from an underaged prostitute, would serve as a gatekeeper for the legal work Ruemmler was handling.

Ruemmler was mentioned thousands of times in the Epstein Files

What began as a professional relationship soon evolved into something more friendly.

In emails, the two are seen talking about trips to his infamous island in the Caribbean (Ruemmler’s reps say she never went) and public relations advice to Epstein. She refers to Epstein as “uncle Jeffrey” after receiving boots courtesy of the creep.

Ruemmler, shown in 2014, served as White House counsel for the Obama Administration. AFP via Getty Images

When Epstein was arrested a second time in 2019, just before he was found dead in his jail cell from an apparent suicide, one of his first calls was to Ruemmler (her reps say she never engaged him as a client in any capacity).

It’s all very embarrassing for Ruemmler and Goldman. Yet for months Goldman Sachs stood by her, believing that while her dealings with Epstein might look bad, a fair reading showed she was dealing with someone on behalf of a client.

Ruemmler, meanwhile, carried on with her duties as general counsel of one of the world’s most prestigious firms seemingly without a hitch.

Privately, however, she was reeling. Goldman’s corporate culture is among the most cut-throat on Wall Street. Colleagues leaked stories that there were plans to move her out of the job, which the firm officially denied.

Goldman Sachs and CEO David Solomon supported Ruemmler. AFP via Getty Images

She found herself constantly explaining to friends and others the nuances of her exchanges with Epstein, people with knowledge of the matter say.

She is a criminal lawyer by training, but she said she was fooled into believing that Epstein had cleaned up his act; his single count of child prostitution a mistake with someone he believed was legal.

Then came the birthday email, and Ruemmler’s seemingly lack of outrage over its content.

The exchange starts off innocently enough, when Ruemmler writes to Epstein wishing him a “Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy the day with your one true love. :-)”

Goldman’s corporate culture is among the most cut-throat on Wall Street. Reuters

Epstein responds: “they say that men usually give a name to their penis, as it would be inappropriate to make love to a total stranger.”

Ruemmler replies that it’s “Hard to believe that there is still an open question about whether men are yhe inferior gender.”

According to one person close to Ruemmler, the notion that she was casually discussing the penis of a convicted sexual predator was a bridge too far.

“It’s so sad what happened to her because when all is said and done she didn’t do anything wrong but talk to this guy,” said a person close to her. “And that one email just put her over the edge.”

The post Here’s the crude email exchange with Jeffrey Epstein that ended Kathy Ruemmler’s stint as Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Hochul on Thursday proposed several measures to the state budget that would prevent institutional investors from bidding on homes in the first 75 days that they are listed on the market.

The governor’s plan also calls for removing certain tax benefits such as interest deductions for firms that buy the homes at well above market value.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to limit investment in residential real estate by private equity firms and hedge funds. Andrew Schwartz / SplashNews.com

Hochul said in a statement that “shadowy private equity giants are buying up the housing supply in communities across New York, leaving everyday homebuyers with fewer and fewer affordable options.”

But advocates for landlords panned the proposals. James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, told the New York Times that it was “another example of policy that will stifle investment in housing in New York.”

The soaring cost of housing is primarily a problem that has been caused by the lack of supply, according to experts.

Between 2012 and 2022, New York state added approximately 462,000 housing units, marking a 5.7% increase — a growth rate that is below the national average.

New York state ranks 32nd in the nation in housing unit growth during this period, according to data compiled by the Office of the State Comptroller.

Private equity firms own more than 500,000 homes nationwide, according to the governor’s news release, with some estimates expecting the firms to own up to 40% of the single-family rental market by 2030.

The soaring cost of housing in New York state has become a hot-button political issue. bilanol – stock.adobe.com

There were more than 145 million housing units in the country in 2023, according to US Census data.

A report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that non-individual investors — which includes landlords who form limited liability corporations — owned a quarter of single-family rentals in 2021.

Larger investors tended to buy newer and bigger homes in places with population growth and rapid rent increases, according to the report.

Lobbyists for landlords criticized the proposals, saying they will stifle investment. Christopher Sadowski

A different report from the US Government Accountability Office found that the country’s five largest institutional investors owned nearly 2% of all single-family rental homes nationally in 2022, with the issue most pronounced in Sun Belt states.

Hochul, a Democrat, has rolled out a series of economic proposals for the state’s legislative session that are geared toward addressing the state’s high cost of living.

On Thursday, she also announced proposals to incentivize the construction of starter homes and help first-time homeowners with down payments.

With Post wires

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