LA28 chief Casey Wasserman apologizes for flirtatious emails with Maxwell

New pages released from the Justice Department’s cache of Epstein-related files included intimate, flirtatious e‑mail exchanges from March and April 2003 between Casey Wasserman, chair of the Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee, and Ghislaine Maxwell. The disclosures prompted a public apology from Wasserman and renewed scrutiny of social ties surrounding the Epstein scandal.

The e‑mails, posted as part of a fresh DOJ release late January, include lines that commentators described as racy and personal. One exchange from Wasserman reads, “I think of you all the time... So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?” A reply attributed to Maxwell in the files says, “Umm, all that rubbing, are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild, I suppose I could practice them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?” Another passage in the documents refers to “JE” urging Maxwell to pick a week to visit Los Angeles and to look at Malibu properties to rent that summer, and offers to bring Wasserman something from Paris.

Wasserman, 51, issued a statement acknowledging the correspondence and expressing remorse. In a message distributed by news agencies he said, “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light.” He added, “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.” He also noted, “As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane,” and concluded, “I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

The documents do not allege wrongdoing by Wasserman, and there is no public record that he faces legal exposure based on the released pages. Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on five counts related to sex trafficking and abuse of minors, is serving a 20‑year sentence and has agreed to testify under oath before a congressional committee probing the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. The broader DOJ release, described by officials and news organizations as numbering in the millions of pages, has intensified political interest and reopened questions about who traveled, socialized, and transacted with Epstein and his circle.

For Wasserman, the revelations pose reputational and organizational risks at a sensitive moment for Los Angeles sport and entertainment industries. As founder and CEO of a major sports and talent firm and the public face of LA28, his personal conduct and past associations will be measured against the commercial and civic imperatives of staging the Olympics. Sponsors, partners, and civic leaders typically demand clear ethical lines from organizing leadership; even decades‑old correspondence can complicate negotiations, fundraising and public trust.

Culturally, the disclosures underscore how interwoven elite social networks were in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and how digital records can revisit personal behavior long after the moment has passed. They also highlight a tension between private indiscretions and public roles in a time when corporate and civic accountability has grown more exacting.

The immediate fallout will likely focus on whether LA28 or the International Olympic Committee feels any organizational impact, whether congressional testimony yields further revelations, and whether the public documents contain additional correspondences with other figures in sport, politics or philanthropy. For now, Wasserman’s apology frames the response; the files make clear only that association, not criminality, is what is again under public scrutiny.