A top Los Angeles politician said Tuesday that LA 2028 Olympics committee chair Casey Wasserman should resign following revelations about racy emails he exchanged with convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell.
“I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who along with other L.A. politicians is working with the LA28 Olympics organizing committee on planning of the Games.
“Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028,” said Hahn, who represents an area of south Los Angeles County that includes coastal neighborhoods.
A representative for Wasserman declined to comment.
Wasserman and other top officials with LA 2028, which is in charge of paying for and planning the Games, are in Italy for meetings ahead of the Winter Olympics.
Hahn’s comments follow the release of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein last week by the Justice Department that include personal emails exchanged more than 20 years ago between Wasserman and Maxwell, Epstein’s former romantic partner.
In emails sent in March and April 2003, Wasserman — who was married at the time — writes to Maxwell about wanting to book a massage and wanting to see her in a tight leather outfit.
She offers to give him a massage that can “drive a man wild,” and the pair discuss how much they miss each other, according to posted online by the Department of Justice.
In a statement, Wasserman said he regretted his correspondence with Maxwell, which he said occurred “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”
“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,” he said in the statement.
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat representing Long Beach, where many Olympic events will be held, said Tuesday that “feeling ‘deeply regretful’ or ‘truly sorry’ are not sufficient responses,” and she also called on Wasserman to resign.
“Any person associated with Epstein, Maxwell or the Epstein files, regardless of their power, title, income or who they know, should be held accountable for any involvement they’ve had and that includes Chair Wasserman,” Gonzalez said.
The Daily Mail in 2024 published an extensive story on Wasserman’s alleged affairs during his marriage with Laura Ziffren, whom he divorced. He denied the accusations.
Wasserman was picked by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti to oversee the Olympics in L.A.