Olympics-Wasserman to remain LA28 chairman after Epstein review

By Rory Carroll

MILAN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Casey Wasserman will remain chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after organisers conducted a review of his past interactions with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and late financier Jeffrey Epstein, LA28 said on Wednesday.

Files published by the U.S. Justice Department late last month included email exchanges from 2003 between Wasserman, who was married at the time, and Maxwell, the former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Epstein.

LA28 said it took allegations of misconduct seriously and that with the assistance of outside counsel it conducted a review of Wasserman's past interactions with Epstein and Maxwell. Wasserman fully cooperated with the review, LA28 said.

The review found Wasserman's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what had already been publicly documented.

It determined that 23 years ago, before Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell's crimes, Wasserman and his then-wife flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein's plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation. LA28 said this was his single interaction with Epstein, and shortly after, he exchanged 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," the LA28 Executive Committee said in a statement.

Wasserman has apologised for communicating with Maxwell, after the publication of a series of personal emails between the two.

'CASEY SHOULD RESIGN'

Earlier on Wednesday, retired U.S. women's soccer player Abby Wambach called on Wasserman to step down from the talent agency he leads given revelations of emails between him and Maxwell.

In a social media post, Wambach said after reading Wasserman's correspondence in the Epstein files she was "following my gut and my values" and cutting ties with the sports and entertainment talent agency he founded in 2002.

"Casey should resign," Wambach, who retired from soccer in 2015 and is the all-time international top scorer for the U.S., wrote on Instagram. "He should leave, so more people like me don’t have to."

The talent agency did not immediately respond when asked to comment.

Wasserman has denied having a personal or business relationship with Epstein. In his apology for his association with Maxwell, he said their interactions came before her or Epstein's crimes were revealed.

According to a Los Angeles Times report from last week, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, State Senator Lena Gonzalez and a trio of city council members were among those who had called for Wasserman to resign as LA28 chair.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2021 by a jury in New York on charges including sex trafficking of a minor.

Maxwell was arrested in 2020 after being accused by federal prosecutors of recruiting and grooming girls for sexual encounters with Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

The U.S. Justice Department's release of millions of internal documents related to Epstein has revealed the late financier and sex offender's ties to many prominent people - both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl. His 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide.

STRIKING OPTICS

While Olympic stakeholders discussed Wasserman, the LA28 delegation projected breezy confidence, leaning into the city’s brand of hospitality and spectacle at a reception tied to the Milano Cortina Games.

The optics were striking. LA28 staff and guests gathered beneath a giant “Hollywood” sign installation, clinking glasses while bartenders lined up rows of cocktails and spirits across an illuminated counter.

The event doubled as a soft-power showcase: a curated slice of Los Angeles glamour exported to northern Italy at a moment when the leadership of the next Summer Olympics was again the subject of discussion.