LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles City Council Friday approved a resolution addressing concerns involving LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman, urging Olympic organizers to investigate his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a 12-0 vote, the City Council approved the resolution after the matter had been rescheduled twice. The effort comes amid calls for Wasserman to resign following the release of emails he exchanged years ago with Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted associate of the late financier.
City Council members Bob Blumenfield, Adrin Nazarian and Curren Price were absent during the vote.
The LA28 Executive Committee Board backed Wasserman as chair, citing an independent investigation that examined his past interactions with Maxwell.
The resolution serves to formalize the city’s position on the matter.
City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez introduced the resolution on Feb. 11, seconded by Councilwoman Imelda Padilla.
While the text of the resolution stops short of calling for Wasserman’s resignation, it reads: Be it further resolved, that the City Council expresses concern regarding the potential conflict between the Olympic movement’s values and Casey Wasserman’s association with the Epstein files, and calls for a thorough and transparent review of his involvement in the ongoing investigations into these matters.”
City officials are expected to distribute the resolution to the LA28 Organizing Committee, the International Olympic Committee and all relevant parties involved in the Games.
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.
“With the Board’s position on leadership established, LA28’s focus remains on delivering a fiscally responsible, privately funded Games that protects taxpayers and benefits Los Angeles. We are on track to deliver a
successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028,” LA28 said in a statement.
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.
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 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.
In February, Rodriguez, Padilla and City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, as well as City Controller Kenneth Mejia and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn 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.
Mayor Karen Bass later echoed those concerns during a television interview.
Epstein 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.
The 51-year-old Wasserman is the founder of Wasserman, a sports marketing and talent agency, and grandson of the late Lew Wasserman, who had been chairman and chief executive of the Music Corporation of America, the
parent company of Universal Studios, who is considered Hollywood’s last mogul.
Wasserman announced last month he would sell the agency, which was publicly rebranded this week as The Team.
The West Hollywood City Council unanimously approved a resolution on March 2 calling for Wasserman to step down from his position with LA28. The item was introduced by City Council members John Erickson and Chelsea Lee Byers, who conducted a news conference in February criticizing Wasserman for his connection to Epstein.
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