NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called on Olympics 2028 chief Casey Wasserman to resign amid the fallout from his name appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files last month.
Bass is the latest official to call out Wasserman, doing so in an interview with CNN. She said she was unable to fire him, but believed he should “step down.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks at the NBA Cares Legacy Project Dedication at the Weingart YMCA on February 12, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“The board made a decision,” she said. “I think that decision was unfortunate. I don’t support the decision. I think we need to look at the leadership. However, my job as mayor of Los Angeles is to make sure our city is fully prepared to have the best Olympics that has ever happened in Olympic history.”
The Justice Department’s release of documents related to Epstein showed Wasserman having a flirtatious exchange with close Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Since then, he has announced that he will sell his talent agency, as some clients have already announced their departure.
Wasserman’s decision to sell the agency came after the LA28 board’s executive committee met to discuss Wasserman’s appearance in the Epstein files. The committee said so, and an outside law firm conducted a review of Wasserman’s interactions with Epstein and Maxwell, with Wasserman’s full cooperation.
LA OLYMPICS CHIEF RESPONDS TO GHISLAINE MAXWELL EMAILS ON EPSTEIN FILES
Casey Wasserman, chairman and president of LA28, during the media conference celebrating the 1,000-day countdown to LA28 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“We found that Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” the committee said in a statement, adding that Wasserman “should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful game.”
Wasserman previously said he flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein’s private plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation in 2002. He said in a memo to staff that his interactions with Maxwell and Epstein were limited and that he regrets the emails.
“It was years before their criminal behavior came to light, and consisted entirely of a humanitarian trip to Africa and a handful of emails that I deeply regret sending. And I am sorry that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company and its customers so much difficulty over the past days and weeks,” the memo said.
“I have never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said in an earlier statement. “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 to have had any connection with either of them.”
US national soccer legend Abby Wambach announced that she will be leaving the agency. Chappell Roan also left the agency.
The Justice Department released a trove of Epstein documents on December 19 following President Trump’s signing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
In the email exchanges, Wasserman told Maxwell, “I think about you all the time. So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather suit?” Another exchange showed Maxwell asking Wasserman if it would be foggy enough during an upcoming visit “so you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they’re close?” Wasserman replied, “or something like that.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Wasserman has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
