Los Angeles Mayor Calls for Casey Wasserman to Step Down from 2028 Olympics

Lead

On Feb. 16, 2026, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass publicly urged Casey Wasserman to resign as chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic organizing committee after his name appeared in newly released Justice Department documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Bass, speaking to CNN, said she lacked the authority to remove him directly and that only the nonprofit board that governs the organizing committee could do so. The call follows a decision last week by organizers to give Wasserman a vote of confidence and his announcement that he would sell his business and step back from day-to-day management. The dispute has heightened scrutiny of governance and reputational risk as the city prepares to host the Games.

Key Takeaways

• Mayor Karen Bass publicly said on Feb. 16, 2026, that Casey Wasserman should step down as chair of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics; she noted she cannot fire him because only the nonprofit board has that authority.
• Casey Wasserman, 51, announced he would sell his talent and sports-marketing agency and relinquish day-to-day control of the firm that employs about 4,000 people, citing “limited interactions” with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein decades ago as a distraction.
• Organizers of the Los Angeles 2028 Games issued a vote of confidence for Wasserman last week, affirming his continued leadership despite the controversy.
• The mayor’s statement came after a tranche of documents released by the Justice Department in its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein included emails tied to Wasserman that have drawn public attention.
• Wasserman played a central role in crafting Los Angeles’s winning bid for the 2028 Games, making his leadership a focal point for sponsors, civic leaders, and the organizing board.
• The tension underscores governance limits: the organizing committee is overseen by a nonprofit board, not by the city mayor, complicating calls for immediate removal.

Background

Casey Wasserman is a well-known Los Angeles entertainment executive who led the effort to deliver the city’s successful bid to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He serves as chairman of the nonprofit committee charged with planning and staging the Games; that committee operates with its own board and governance rules separate from municipal control. Large-scale sporting events often place private-sector leaders in dual roles that blend civic organizing, fundraising and public representation, and those arrangements can become politically sensitive when controversies emerge.

The latest controversy follows the Justice Department’s release of documents tied to its long-running Epstein investigation, which included emails bearing Wasserman’s name. Two decades after the interactions referenced in those documents, Wasserman has apologized for the emails identified in the trove and described the contacts as limited, but the disclosure has nonetheless prompted renewed scrutiny from civic leaders and the public. Separately, the organizing committee recently reaffirmed its support for Wasserman, a move that set up a direct divergence between city leadership and the committee’s governance.

Main Event

On Feb. 16, 2026, Mayor Karen Bass said in an interview with CNN that she believes Wasserman should resign as chair of the 2028 organizing committee. Bass emphasized that she does not have the formal power to remove him, adding that replacement is a matter for the nonprofit board that oversees the committee. Her remark made her the highest-ranking elected official in the city to publicly call for his departure.

Wasserman had announced three days earlier that he would sell his company and step away from daily operations after the newly surfaced emails became a distraction for the agency’s 4,000 employees and for the Games organization. In a memo to staff he framed the move as an effort to focus on his civic role while reducing potential conflicts tied to his private business interests. The organizing committee, however, held a vote of confidence last week to keep him in place, signaling institutional reluctance to remove a leader instrumental to the bid’s success.

The Justice Department’s document release that touched off the controversy is part of a broader, years-long investigation into the Epstein network. The files have implicated or embarrassed a range of high-profile figures, and their publication has repeatedly produced new waves of public and political reaction. In this instance, the appearance of Wasserman’s name in the trove has prompted an unusual public clash between the mayoralty and the Games’ independent organizers.

Analysis & Implications

The mayor’s call elevates the dispute from internal committee politics to a matter of civic concern. Public confidence is a key currency for Olympic organizing committees: sponsors, civic partners and volunteer recruitment rely on a perception of ethical stewardship. A prolonged controversy could complicate fundraising and corporate partnerships at a delicate stage of Games preparation, even if no legal action follows.

Governance mechanics matter here. Because the organizing committee is structured as a nonprofit with its own board, city officials have limited formal leverage. That separation can protect the organizing process from political interference, but it can also create accountability gaps when private-sector leaders who command substantial influence face reputational crises. The board’s decision-making criteria and timetable will determine whether the mayor’s call translates into action.

There is also a political dimension for Mayor Bass. By publicly stating her view, she signals responsiveness to constituent and civic concerns while preserving legal boundaries. For Wasserman, the choice to sell his firm and cede daily control may reduce some conflict-of-interest concerns, but it does not remove questions raised by the document disclosures. Internationally, the situation could prompt scrutiny from the International Olympic Committee and global sponsors focused on reputation risk, though the IOC’s formal intervention would typically follow internal governance developments rather than immediate media controversy.

Comparison & Data

The timeline above shows a compact series of events within days in February 2026. That rapid sequence — document release, corporate action by Wasserman, and the mayor’s public call — compressed deliberations over governance and public accountability into a short window, increasing pressure on the organizing board to respond quickly while preserving due process.

Reactions & Quotes

Local and national actors have responded in different registers — civic leaders pressing for accountability, the organizing body defending continuity, and Wasserman acknowledging the material in the released documents. Below are direct remarks drawn from public statements and reported interviews.

“I cannot fire him. I do have an opinion. My opinion is that he should step down.”

Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles (CNN interview, Feb. 16, 2026)

Mayor Bass framed her remarks as an ethical judgment rather than an exercise of removal authority, underlining the distinction between political voice and legal power.

“My limited interactions with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein decades ago have become a distraction.”

Casey Wasserman (memo to employees, Feb. 2026)

Wasserman used this language to explain his decision to sell his business and focus on civic duties, while apologizing for emails that appeared in the documents released by investigators.

Unconfirmed

• Whether the organizing committee’s board will remove Casey Wasserman is not confirmed; no official board vote to oust him has been reported at the time of writing.
• The precise nature and extent of Wasserman’s interactions with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, beyond the emails cited in the released documents, have not been fully established in public records available as of Feb. 16, 2026.
• There is no publicly available indication that the International Olympic Committee has initiated formal proceedings related to this disclosure as of this report.

Bottom Line

The dispute over Casey Wasserman’s future as chair of the Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee has moved quickly from document disclosures to corporate and political responses within days. Mayor Karen Bass’s public call for his resignation marks a significant escalation, but real authority to remove him lies with the committee’s nonprofit board, which must weigh reputational, legal and operational factors before acting.

Watch for three immediate signals in the coming weeks: any formal action or statement from the organizing board, decisions by major sponsors about their financial commitments, and further disclosures or clarifications about the content and context of the released documents. Each will shape whether this episode becomes a short-lived controversy or a turning point in governance ahead of the 2028 Games.

Sources

• The New York Times (news)