Recast lead and throughout with Ruemmler's opening statement

By Saeed Azhar

NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs <GS.N> senior counsel Kathryn Ruemmler told members of Congress on Wednesday that if she had known Jeffrey Epstein was abusing women or girls, she would have reported him to law enforcement.

Ruemmler made these comments in a closed-door hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as part of its investigation into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The hearing has pushed Goldman back into the spotlight over its decision to keep Ruemmler, despite her links to the convicted sex offender.

"First, I did not see any evidence of ongoing criminal conduct or misconduct of any kind by Epstein during the time I dealt with him," she said in her opening statement, which she made public.

"Second, if I had seen or heard any evidence suggesting that he was abusing women or girls, I would have immediately reported him to law enforcement."

Ruemmler stepped down as chief legal officer and general counsel at the end of June, pending a replacement, after documents published by the U.S. Justice Department showed she had extensive communications with Epstein and had also accepted gifts from him.

She agreed to continue in an advisory role as senior counsel until the company appointed a new chief legal officer, Solomon said in June, a decision that has been criticized by some lawmakers.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Epstein, who died in a New York City prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, had extensive ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business, including President Donald Trump. His death was ruled a suicide.

"Although Epstein was never my client, I got to know him when he referred a financial institution client to me for which he was a primary advisor," Ruemmler said on Wednesday.

"If I knew then what I know now about who Epstein really was, I never would have accepted an initial meeting with him. It was a mistake to deal with him, and I regret it," she added.

With respect to gifts, Ruemmler said she didn’t ask for them, didn’t need them, and didn’t view them as particularly personal or consequential.

"I accepted them graciously, as I saw no reason not to. But the gifts weren’t important to me, and I declined to accept some of them. In any event, nothing he gave me caused me to deal with him any differently than I otherwise would have."

Ruemmler called the late sex offender "a masterful liar."

"He clearly lied to me. I can see now that he used me and other respectable people to legitimize his standing, and I know now that he often exaggerated his relationship with me to others," she said.

The oversight panel has interviewed political leaders such as former President Bill Clinton, current Commerce Secretary and former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Goldman CEO David Solomon said in a CNBC interview at the time of her resignation that Ruemmler told him the press coverage of the work she had done put "her in a position where it was hard for her to execute on her job and her responsibilities, and she just thought it was time to step away."

On Tuesday, he told the business channel Ruemmler agreed to act as an advisor and help the firm navigate through until a new general counsel is seated.