Citing Epstein files, calls grow for LA Olympics chief Casey Wasserman to step down

A growing number of Los Angeles-area politicians are calling on Olympics chief Casey Wasserman to step down after recently released files included a series of flirty emails between him and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell from 2003.

The emails were released in the Justice Department's latest drop of the files related to the criminal investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"Casey Wasserman should step aside immediately," L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said in a statement. "Anything less is a distraction and undermines efforts to make sure the Games truly reflect the values of a city that is for everyone."

Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Imelda Padilla, Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez, along with L.A. County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath, and City Controller Kenneth Mejia also called on Wasserman to step aside.

"Los Angeles cannot trust our financial future to someone connected with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell," Mejia said on social media, citing the city of L.A.'s role as financial backer of the Olympic Games.

The emails include an exchange in which Wasserman writes to Maxwell, "I think of you all the time…So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?"

In another, Wasserman explains the concept of "June gloom" to Maxwell, who responds, "What foggy enough so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?"

In 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for facilitating a sex trafficking ring of minor girls with Epstein.

LA28 did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But in a statement provided to other media outlets over the weekend, Wasserman said he was "terribly sorry" for his association with Epstein and Maxwell.

"I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman said in the statement, which was shared by The Athletic and other news outlets. “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez also referenced LA28's "Human Rights Strategy," which was due at the end of last year but hasn't yet been made public.

"The failure to complete a robust Human Rights plan, coupled with the revelations from the newly released Epstein files, makes clear that no one associated with Epstein and his associates can provide credible leadership in the planning of these games, which now includes Casey Wasserman," Rodriguez said in a statement.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has not called on Wasserman to resign. In a statement to LAist, Bass said that it was critical to be "100% focused on making our city shine."

"Ultimately, any decision on the LA28 leadership must be made by the LA28 Board. As you know, they are a separate and independent nonprofit organization," the mayor said.