Organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles announced their public support of Chairman Casey Wasserman and backed him to continue leading LA28 despite his recent appearance in the Epstein files.
In the most recently-released files regarding sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, published by the U.S. Department of Justice in late January, Wasserman’s name appeared with flirtatious emails between him and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is the only Epstein associate to have been criminally charged or convicted in the case and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. She was Epstein’s girlfriend.
On Wednesday, members of Wasserman’s Executive Committee of the Board called an emergency meeting, where it was decided his connections to Epstein did not warrant his dismissal from LA28, citing the “facts” and his “strong leadership.”
The Executive Committee of the Board, which is a subset of the 35-member Board, includes Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jeanie Buss, Kevin McCarthy and Jessica Alba.
“We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” the Executive Committee of the Board said in a statement on Wednesday.
“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 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.”
FULL STATEMENT
After meeting on Wednesday, February 11, the Executive Committee of the Board issued the following statement:
LA28 takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and our Board is committed to thoroughly reviewing any concerns related to the organization’s leadership.
With the assistance of outside counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, a review was conducted of Mr. Wasserman’s past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Mr. 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.
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 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.
Wasserman, who was married at the time the emails were sent, apologized for those communications and denied having any personal relationship with Epstein.
“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said last week. “I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
The emails were sent before Epstein was first convicted on charges of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting in prostitution in 2008.
Beyond his role with LA28, Wasserman is the founder and CEO of Wasserman, a sports marketing and talent agency. A number of Olympic and Paralympic swimmers are current Wasserman clients.
In recent days, several high-profile figures, including Grammy-winning singer Chappell Roan, country music star Orville Peck and former U.S. National Team soccer player Abby Wambach, have announced they’re leaving the Wasserman agency after the files were revealed.
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While the LA28 Executive Committee of the Board announced its support for Wasserman on Wednesday, two LA city councilmembers, Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla, submitted a resolution calling for accountability for LA28 leadership.
Additionally, LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn called for Wasserman to step down.
“I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down,” Hahn said, according to The Wrap. “Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”
Wasserman has not been charged in any of the prostitution activities at the core of the Epstein investigation. Epstein, in his role as financier, was connected to a number of powerful people, and the challenge for investigations has been peeling apart which relationships were related to his role as a financier and which relationships spilled over into his illicit activities.
Epstein and Maxine knew so many people worldwide.. ..the hundreds of business associates or clients would not have had a clue about his ” other” lifestyle.
Bravo to the LA committee for not burning someone over a flirty email years ago.
Anyone who’s anyone – in the world of money and power… is connected to Epstein in someway. This article is purely for disclosure and engagement bait, but nothing is actually going to happen and people will mov eon with their lives as always.
When is enough, enough?
What do you expect from LA? This is the same leadership who let half their city burn down and wasn’t recalled for their gross incompetence . Sad people vote for this.
You are who you associate yourself with.
Unsurprising in the US. We’ve let pedophiles and rapists just carry on violating young athletes throughout our history. Powerful men do whatever they want with no consequences.
Shock
The Trump side of the force is strong with this one.