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<\/p>\nLos Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in an interview Monday that she does not want embattled mogul Casey Wasserman running the 2028 Summer Games.<\/p>\n
Bass told CNN\u2019s Dana Bash that it was \u201cunfortunate\u201d that the organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics are supporting Wasserman amid revelations that he exchanged flirty emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell two decades ago. <\/p>\n
Bass initially declined to take a position on the drama surrounding Wasserman, saying two weeks ago that it was up to the board of the LA28 Olympics \u2014 the nonprofit behind the Games \u2014 to decide whether to keep him.<\/p>\n
But Monday, Bass offered a new take on Wasserman\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy opinion is that he should step down,\u201d Bass said. \u201cThat\u2019s not the opinion of the board.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that \u201cwe need to look at the leadership\u201d of LA28 and that her job is to make sure that the city is \u201ccompletely prepared\u201d for the Games.<\/p>\n
Representatives for LA28 and Wasserman didn\u2019t immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Wasserman has previously apologized for his correspondence with Maxwell and expressed regret for having any association with both her and Jeffrey Epstein. The exchanges took place before Maxwell\u2019s crimes became known and before she was sentenced to prison for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by financier Epstein.<\/p>\n
Wasserman announced last week that he would sell his sports and entertainment company because of backlash over the email exchanges. <\/p>\n
The executive committee of the LA28 board announced Wednesday that it reviewed the mogul\u2019s past conduct and determined that based on the facts and his \u201cstrong leadership\u201d of the Games, he should continue to serve as chair of LA28.<\/p>\n
The LA28 executive committee \u2014 a subset of its broader, 35-member board \u2014 said it took \u201callegations of misconduct seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, carrying the Olympic flag, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman, front right, and Team USA Olympians skateboarder Tate Carew, second from left, diver Delaney Schnell, rear right, and volleyball player Micah Ma\u2019a, top right, arrive in Los Angeles on Aug. 12, 2024.<\/p>\n
(Damian Dovarganes \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n
It met Wednesday after hiring outside counsel O\u2019Melveny & Myers LLP to assist reviewing Wasserman\u2019s interactions with Epstein and Maxwell. Wasserman, it said, fully cooperated with the review.<\/p>\n
L.A.\u2019s Olympic leaders have yet to reveal who is on the committee. Bass\u2019 office last week said her appointees on the executive committee include entertainment attorney Matt Johnson, real estate developer Jaime Lee and union leader Yvonne Wheeler.<\/p>\n
At least 10 L.A.-area politicians, including a third of the 15-member Los Angeles City Council, have called on Wasserman to resign from leading the Olympics, with many arguing the exchanges are a distraction.<\/p>\n
City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is challenging Bass in the upcoming mayor\u2019s race, is among those calling for Wasserman to step away. Raman previously worked at a women\u2019s rights organization formed in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement before becoming a council member.<\/p>\n
Even before revelations about the emails, there were tensions between Wasserman and some Los Angeles politicians concerned that financial shortfalls in staging the $7-billion Summer Games will need to be covered by local taxpayers. <\/p>\n