Mayor Bass Says Casey Wasserman Should Resign as LA28 Chair

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - Mayor Karen Bass today called on Casey Wasserman, chairman of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to step down from his position -- joining other Democratic elected officials who have urged for his resignation due to salacious emails he exchanged years ago with Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Bass, previously declined for weeks to provide an opinion or take a position on the matter. She broke her silence in a CNN interview, saying that, while she can't fire him from the committee, her ''opinion is that he should step down.''

"That's not the opinion of the board,'' Bass added.

"The board made a decision. I think that was unfortunate. I don't support the decision. I do think that we need to look at the leadership,'' Bass said. ``However, my job as mayor of Los Angeles is to make sure that our city is completely prepared to have the best Olympics that has ever happened in Olympic history.''  

A representative for the Mayor's office, Bass' reelection campaign, nor LA28 immediately responded to a request for comment.   

On Feb. 3, three Los Angeles City Council members and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn were among the elected officials who called on Wasserman to resign over a string of racy emails with Maxwell, who's been convicted of sex trafficking for her role in a widespread sexual abuse scandal involving the late Epstein.   

Hahn,  who is among the Los Angeles County and city officials working with LA28, urged Wasserman to step down.   

"Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous efforts needed to prepare for 2028,'' Hahn told the Los Angeles Times.

City Council members Hugo Soto-Martínez, Monica Rodriguez, and Imelda Padilla, as well as City Controller Kenneth Mejia, echoed her sentiments.   

Despite these calls for Wasserman's resignation, the LA28 Executive Committee Board backed Wasserman as chair, citing an independent investigation that examined his past interactions with Maxwell.

The Board -- the leaders responsible for planning and executing the preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles -- said in a statement that the organization takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and is committed to thoroughly reviewing any concerns related to the organization's leadership.   

LA28 hired outside counsel O'Melveny & Myers LLP to conduct a review of Wasserman's past interactions with Maxwell and Epstein. The board said Wasserman fully cooperated with the review.

"We found Mr. Wasserman's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,'' the board said in a statement.

"Twenty-three years ago, before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell's deplorable crimes, Mr. Wasserman and his then-wife flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein's plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation. This was his single interaction with Epstein. Shortly after, he traded the publicly known emails with Maxwell,'' the board said in its statement.  

Wasserman has apologized for his correspondence with Maxwell, and reiterated it happened long before her and Epstein's crimes came to light. He's also denied having a personal or business relationship with Epstein.   

Wasserman's name surfaced when the latest batch of Epstein documents were made public Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its investigation into Epstein, who died in a jail cell in August 2019 of a reported suicide as he awaited trial on federal charges.

The former financier was accused of procuring underage girls to perform sexual favors for various highly influential millionaires and billionaires at a private island.

The documents revealed multiple salacious email exchanges between Wasserman and Maxwell, Epstein's associate who was convicted in 2021 on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy for helping Epstein procure girls and young women.

In a statement to various media outlets, Wasserman said, `'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.''

The newly released emails are from 2003. They feature flirtatious remarks from both parties, including Wasserman writing that he wanted to see Maxwell in a ``tight leather outfit,'' and Maxwell offering to give him a massage that can ``drive a man wild.''

The 51-year-old Wasserman is the founder and CEO of Wasserman, a sports marketing and talent agency, and grandson of legendary Hollywood agent Lew Wasserman.  

Wasserman announced he planned to sell his sports marketing and talent agency amid the ongoing fallout.