Casey Wasserman’s job as chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee is safe after the LA28 board’s executive committee met Wednesday to discuss his appearance in recently released government files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Wasserman has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but documents released by the Justice Department revealed that in 2003 he exchanged flirtatious emails with Ghislaine Maxwell, who years later would be accused of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse his victims.
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LA28 says that, with help from an outside legal firm, it conducted a review of Wasserman’s past interactions with Epstein and Maxwell, with Wasserman’s full cooperation.
«We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,» the executive committee said in a statement. «The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.»
Among the exchanges between the two included Wasserman telling Maxwell «I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?»
There is also an email exchange about massages and one in which Maxwell asks whether it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit «so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?»
Wasserman responds, «or something like that.»
In a statement Jan. 31, Wasserman said «I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,» which he said occurred «long before her horrific crimes came to light.» He added that he «never had a personal or business relationship» with Epstein.
Last week, the IOC declined to put any additional public pressure on Wasserman to step aside.
Wasserman was among a handful of entertainment industry figures, including actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker, who accompanied former U.S. President Bill Clinton aboard Epstein’s jet for a philanthropy-related trip to Africa in 2002. In a Feb. 8 statement to the Los Angeles Times, Wasserman said it was the only time he met Epstein.
In 2021, Maxwell was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking and abuse of minors. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.
A number of athletes and musicians — including retired U.S. women’s soccer star Abby Wambach, Grammy-winning singer Chappell Roan and indie rock band Beach Bunny — have cut ties with the Wasserman’s eponymous sports marketing and talent-management company following the release of the government files.
Wambach posted on Instagram that she had left the Wasserman agency after reading his emails contained in the Epstein files.
«Casey should resign,» Wambach wrote. «He should leave, so more people like me don’t have to.»
Some members of the Los Angeles city council and county board of supervisors have called for Wasserman to step down from his Olympics post.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
