LA Mayor Sidesteps Calls For Casey Wasserman’s Olympics Resignation After Epstein Files Revelations; IOC Brass Still Has “Full Trust” In LA28 Chief

Casey Wasserman still has the support of Karen Bass and the International Olympics Committee to stay in charge of LA28, for now.

IOC Executive Board member Nicole Hoevertsz said on February 3 in Italy that the increasingly besieged Wasserman and his “entire team” has the “full trust” of the organization despite the racy correspondence from the grandson of the once omnipotent Lew Wasserman in the latest Epstein Files dump. However, even with the vote of confidence from officials at the XXV Winter Games, here in the City of Angels, the Mayor was much more circumspect as other local politicians seek to have Wasserman to “step down” from his Olympics perch.

“As Los Angeles prepares to take the world stage and welcome the world for the Olympic Games for the third time and the Paralympics for the first, it is critical to be 100% focused on making our city shine and ensuring the 2028 Games are the best in Los Angeles’ history,” the reelection seeking Bass said today on Wasserman and calls for his exit from County Supervisors and other civic leaders.

“Ultimately, any decision on the LA28 leadership must be made by the LA28 Board. As you know, they are a separate and independent nonprofit organization,” the Mayor added, sidestepping any definitive position on Wasserman’s future two and a half years before the 2028 Summer Olympics kicks off.

Overseas this week for the start of the Milan-Cortina Games, 51-year-old sports marketing and talent agency founder Wasserman found his name and very personal and compromising emails among the DOJ released the millions of heavily redacted pages and images on Jeffrey Epstein the Trump DOJ suddenly released on January 30. A day later, Wasserman’s team put out a crafted statement insisting he was “terribly sorry for having any association” with the now dead convicted sex offender and his currently incarcerated procurer Ghislaine Maxwell.

Since then, even with IOC president Kirsty Coventry essentially dismissing the Epstein revelations about Wasserman, among some influential Angelenos a private consensus  was taking shape that the exec had to leave before his scandals risked overwhelmed the 2028 Games themselves. That POV became public on February 3 when first County Supervisor Janice Hahn, and then her colleague Supervisor Lindsey Horvath called for Wasserman to take a walk.

“Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028,” said Hahn. “LA28 has lauded the likelihood of having more women participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games than ever before in history,” Horvath stated. “What does that mean when the organization is led by an intimate friend of a convicted human trafficker? Now is the time for LA28 to demonstrate how much they truly value women.”

In office since 2016 and 2002 respectively, Hahn and Hovath are two of the five all female LA County Supervisors who oversee a region of around 10 million people. Bigger in so many ways that other parts of the country, LA County is the most populous county in the USA. Mayor Karen Bass is still walking the tightrope on Wasserman, but several other local and regional pols want him out now too, including  powerful L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

Los Angeles cannot trust our financial future to someone connected with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

LA 2028 Olympics Committee Chair Casey Wasserman must take accountability and resign.

— LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia (@lacontroller) February 4, 2026

Representatives for the now 7.2 billion and growing budgeted LA28, whose Wasserman picked board includes ex-Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, former GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Jessica Alba, and Jeffery Katzenberg, did not reply Wednesday to Deadline’s request for comment on the growing chorus seeking his exit as Chairman of the Olympics effort.

One concern that several well-placed individuals have suggested is that any push to get Wasserman out could result in a backlash from Donald Trump.

The worry is POTUS, who long-time Democratic candidate backing Wasserman has carefully cultivated and flattered over the past few years for the Games might put the brakes on much required federal funding for LA28 and even LA itself. Added to that, the fact that Trump often goes ballistic about anything around or now associated with his old buddy Epstein may poison the well. At this late date, there is also a worry that a successor for Wasserman is not in waiting like Mitt Romney was in 1999 for the grift riddled 2002 Salt Lake Games, sources tell me.

Wasserman himself has not spoken about the Epstein connection beyond his missive of last weekend. He did, however, go ahead with a presentation on LA28 before IOC brass in Italy on Tuesday.

“The LA Games will not happen in a vacuum,” Wasserman proclaimed to Olympics officials in his remarks on the logistics and finances of the increasingly pricey 2028 event. “The world is complicated and unpredictable. Conflicts within and among nations ignite and resolve. We are not naive to this reality. We take it seriously and will face it head on. I’d argue that it’s exactly because of these challenges the world needs a strong Olympic games more than ever.”

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics run from February 6 to the 22nd. Coming off that sporty opening weekend, Ghislaine Maxwell is set to testify virtually before Congress on February 9.