Sex predator Jeffrey Epstein was involved in establishing a client relationship between Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler and JPMorgan Chase in February 2019, four months before he was arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges, a bombshell court filing revealed Tuesday.

Ruemmler, who is now general counsel for Goldman Sachs, was touted by Epstein’s personal assistant to JPMorgan as an ideal customer, the filing shows.

The suggestion that JPMorgan take Ruemmler on as a client — which the bank warmly embraced — came almost six years after JPMorgan said it had effectively fired Epstein as a client after internal controls repeatedly raised red flags about him.

And it came five months before Epstein killed himself in August 2019 in a Manhattan federal jail, where he was being held without bail pending trial.

Ruemmler declined to comment through a Goldman Sachs spokesman. . . .

Not stated in the CNBC article is the fact that in January 2021, the FINRA Board of Governors appointed Ruemmler to fill the Floor Member Governor's seat. There was no election. Ruemmler was hand picked, and her appointment was approved by the full Board. The Governors who voted to approve Ruemmler's nomination knew or should have known of the troubling allegations set out in the then pending 2010 Class Action against Goldman Sachs; and, as such, should have made a full inquiry of Ruemmler as to her likely role, going forward, on behalf of her employer. A larger question now arises as to whether the Board knew or should have known of Ruemmler's alleged Epstein connection (tenuous or non-existent as it may have been). Moreover, in light of the developments since Ruemmler's 2021 appointment, was the Board presented with any basis to reconsider her appointment as a Governor, or, to request her resignation? In asking and answering such questions, we must always emphasize that FINRA is not a mere company but, in fact, a self-regulatory-organization. 

I am tired about writing about the appointment of Ruemmler to FINRA's Board. 

I am disgusted with the Board's seeming failure to have properly vetted the candidacy of Ruemmler. 

I am angered by the failure of the Governors to resign and clear the decks for the reconstitution of the Board with more diligent professionals.

For those unfamiliar with my advocacy on this festering mess, read:

Sexism On Wall Street: The Cowardly Silence Of FINRA's Board Of Governors (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog / November 28, 2022)
https://www.brokeandbroker.com/6770/finra-goldman-sexism/

By way of preamble, this blog is about Goldman, Sachs & Co. and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's ("FINRA") Board of Governors. This is about a multinational investment bank and financial services company. This is about Wall Street's largest self-regulatory-organization. This is about a sexual discrimination Class Action filed in 2010 against Goldman Sachs. This is about a growing chorus of troubling, disturbing, unsettling allegations by female professionals against Goldman. This is about the appointment of the Goldman Sachs General Counsel to the FINRA Board of Governors. This is about the cowardly silence of FINRA's Board.

A Call For Boycott: FINRA Board Of Governors' Cowardly Silence Becomes Thunderous (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog / May 1, 2023)
https://www.brokeandbroker.com/7021/finra-board-ruemmler-epstein/

Bill Singer, the publisher of the "Securities Industry Commentator" and the "BrokeAndBroker.com Blog," calls upon all industry and investor advocates to demand the immediate removal of all sitting FINRA Governors and to insist that the self-regulatory-organization reconstitute its Board with Governors who will ensure that the regulator's culture adheres to a "tone from the top" approach. Further, until such time as FINRA demonstrates a sincere commitment to reform, all FINRA member firms should instruct their Executive Representative to not cast a vote for any candidate in any FINRA election by way of a boycott.

FINRA Board Of Governors Fails To Confront Goldman Sachs $215 Million Gender Discrimination Settlement (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog / May 10, 2023)
https://www.brokeandbroker.com/7035/finra-goldman-sachs/

In January 2021, the FINRA Board of Governors appointed Goldman Sachs' General Counsel to fill the Floor Member Governor's seat. There was no election. The Governor was hand picked, and her appointment was approved by the full Board. The Governors who voted to approve the nomination knew or should have known about the troubling allegations set out in the pending 2010 Class Action against Goldman Sachs. 

In 2021, no FINRA Governor reportedly challenged the appointment of Goldman Sachs' General Counsel to the Board of Governors of Wall Street's leading self-regulatory-organization. In 2022, as the shocking allegations mounted, no FINRA Governor reportedly requested the resignation of Goldman Sachs' General Counsel. Even in 2023, amid a flood of allegations and evidence, FINRA's Board of Governors said nothing.

Bill Singer Calls For Boycott Of 2023 FINRA Elections (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog / June 16, 2023)
https://www.brokeandbroker.com/7094/bill-singer-finra-board-boycott/

FINRA's Board of Governors is a lackluster amalgamation that is tone deaf to the legitimate needs of its smaller members and resistant to implementing the necessary reforms to protect the investing public and the industry's financial professionals. FINRA's Small Firm members represent some 90% of the membership but are gerrymandered down to about 13% of the Board Governors. Since the Small Firm Members are of no apparent consequence, I urge the Small Firm community to boycott all 2023 FINRA elections. Further, until such time as FINRA demonstrates a sincere commitment to reform, I urge all FINRA member firms to instruct their Executive Representative to not cast a vote for any candidate in any 2023 FINRA election by way of a boycott. 

In January 2021, the FINRA Board of Governors appointed Goldman Sachs' General Counsel to fill the Floor Member Governor's seat. There was no election. The Governor was hand picked, and her appointment was approved by the full Board. By way of context, on September 10, 2010, plaintiffs had filed a Complaint asserting claims for gender discrimination in pay, performance evaluation, and promotion under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the New York City Human Rights Law. On March 30, 2018, the case was certified as a class action; and trial was set to begin on June 7, 2023.The Governors who voted to approve the nomination of Goldman Sachs' General Counsel knew or should have known about the troubling allegations set out in the pending 2010 Class Action against Goldman Sachs. 

Bill Singer Renews Call To Boycott FINRA 2023 Elections (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog /  August 11, 2023)
https://www.brokeandbroker.com/index.php?a=blog&id=7141

According to FINRA's most recently published statistics, the number of FINRA Small Firms (1 - 150 registered persons) is about 3,039. The FINRA Small Firm community has sent a message to FINRA by boycotting the petition phase of the 2023 Board elections. As a result of that boycott, only one FINRA Small Firm candidate received enough petitions to move forward. Not much of an election with only one candidate for the one vacant Small Firm Governor seat. The goal of the boycott is to persuade 1,520 FINRA Small Firm Executive Representatives to not return their firm's proxy. There is no conflict inherent in not casting a worthless vote. It is a quiet, elegant form of protest. If we prevail, less than half of all eligible voting FINRA Small Firms will return a proxy.  That's a simple metric by which to send FINRA an overdue message. Please, join us.