Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Monday called on Casey Wasserman, chairman of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic games, to step down from his position, two weeks after saying the decision is not up to her.
Wasserman, a Hollywood mogul and super talent agent with deep political and social ties, has come under fire after his salacious email exchange with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was revealed in the latest batch of the Epstein files.
Bass, after saying the decision to fire or allowing Wasserman to stay over the emails was up to the LA28 board, said that the board made the wrong move during an interview with CNN.
“My opinion is that he should step down. That’s not the opinion of the board. The Board made a decision. I think that decision was unfortunate. I don’t support the decision,” Bass told CNN’s Dana Bash.
Bass, once again, emphasized the decision over Wasserman was not up to her.
“I do think that we need to look at the leadership. However, my job, as Mayor of Los Angeles, is to make sure our city is completely prepared to have the best Olympics that have ever happened in Olympic history,” she said.
The mayor’s office did not respond to NBC Los Angeles’ request for comment.
Bass’ latest statement came more than two weeks after the email conversation between Wasserman and Maxwell from 23 years ago was revealed, hinting at a romantic relationship and possible extramarital affair.
In the emails released by the Justice Department, Wasserman expresses interest in seeing Maxwell wear a “tight leather outfit.”
“I think of you all the time,” Wasserman wrote to Maxwell in March 2003.
The email exchange happened years before Maxwell was accused of any wrongdoing. There was also no mention of Jeffrey Epstein in the emails with no evidence of underaged girls, parties or Epstein’s private island.
Since the revelation, three Los Angeles City Council members and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn were among the elected officials who called on Wasserman to resign.
The LA28 board, after hiring an outside law firm to review Wasserman’s past relationship with Maxwell, eventually decided he should continue to lead the organizing committee.
“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 last week.
Wasserman has since apologized, saying he regretted any association with Maxwell. The founder and CEO of Wasserman also announced he planned to sell his sports marketing and talent agency amid the ongoing fallout.
Wasserman, with then-Mayor Eric Garcetti, was instrumental in bringing the Olympic Games to Los Angeles in a campaign that started over 10 years ago.
Experts have told NBC Los Angeles that Wasserman’s departure would put the financial health of the Games in jeopardy as Wasserman is the lynchpin for sponsors and donors, essential to keeping LA28 from forcing taxpayers to pick up the tab.
NBCLA has also learned that some members of the LA City Council privately worried that a Wasserman department would invite President Trump to choose his replacement.
While Bass’ latest comments won’t make the job of working with Wasserman and LA28 easier, there may be little downside in this decision for the mayor.
As Mayor Bass is up for reelection this year, and her latest statement on Wasserman insulates her from criticism by opponents that she didn’t take the Epstein case seriously. Since Wasserman’s leadership of LA28 is not up to her, the mayor doesn’t need to worry about possible discord or upheaval his departure may cause.
