Multiple Los Angeles officials have called on 2028 Olympics chief Casey Wasserman to step down over racy emails between him and Jeffrey Epstein’s jailed former girlfriend that appeared in a fresh cache of files related to the late convicted sex offender.
Wasserman, chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, apologized on Saturday after his 2003 email exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell surfaced in millions of pages of documents released by the US Justice Department on Friday.
“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 a statement about his correspondence with Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking underage girls for Epstein.
Wasserman, 51, has not been accused of wrongdoing and has not been charged with any offense related to the Epstein scandal, which has dogged President Donald Trump’s administration.
Local officials in Los Angeles, however, called on Wasserman to step down from his 2028 Olympics post.
“Having (Wasserman) represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous efforts needed to prepare for 2028,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn told The Los Angeles Times.
Hugo Soto-Martinez, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, also called on Wasserman to resign.
“At the same time as Ghislaine Maxwell was orchestrating one of the most notorious sex-trafficking operations in our country’s history, she was allegedly romantically involved with the person now serving as chair of LA28,” Soto-Martinez said in a statement. “Casey Wasserman should step aside immediately.”
In a post on social media, Los Angeles City financial controller Kenneth Mejia added: “Los Angeles cannot trust our financial future to someone connected with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
“LA 2028 Olympics Committee Chair Casey Wasserman must take accountability and resign.”
In his statement on Saturday, Wasserman emphasized that he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 after being convicted the previous year for helping Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse underage victims.
Federal prosecutors said Maxwell had helped procure girls — some as young as 14 — for Epstein between 1994 and around 2004.
Epstein took his own life in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell was arrested and charged for her crimes in 2020.
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