LA Mayor Bass calls on LA28 chair Wasserman to resign

Source: Reuters

February 16, 2026 10:56 PM EST Updated 2 hours ago


MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday said Casey Wasserman should step down as chairman of the committee organising the 2028 Olympic Games following revelations of his interactions with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Files published by the U.S. Justice Department late last month included flirty email exchanges from more than two decades ago between Wasserman and Maxwell, the former girlfriend of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.

Wasserman has denied having a personal or business relationship with Epstein. He has previously apologised for his association with Maxwell, saying their relationship came before her or Epstein's crimes were revealed.

The board of LA28 last week said Wasserman would stay on as chairman after a review, using outside counsel, found his relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what had already been publicly documented. "My opinion is that he should step down," Bass said in an interview with CNN. "That's not the opinion of the board."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/la-mayor-bass-calls-la28-chair-wasserman-resign-2026-02-17/