LA28 chief apologises over past emails with Ghislaine Maxwell

The head of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics has issued a public apology after newly released US justice department files revealed that he exchanged personal emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than two decades ago.

The documents, published on Friday by the United States Department of Justice, are part of a wider release linked to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Among them are flirtatious email exchanges from 2003 between Casey Wasserman, now chairman of the LA28 organising committee, and Maxwell, who was later convicted for her role in Epstein’s abuse network. Wasserman was married at the time the emails were sent.

“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said in a statement on Sunday. “I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Maxwell, Epstein’s former partner, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after a New York jury found her guilty in 2021 of charges including sex trafficking of a minor. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Wasserman said his correspondence with Maxwell took place years before the crimes committed by her and Epstein became public.

“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” he said, adding that it occurred before their actions “came to light”.

The issue has landed awkwardly for the Olympic movement, with preparations underway for multiple Games. The International Olympic Committee declined to comment directly on Wasserman’s apology. Speaking ahead of next week’s Winter Olympics in Italy, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said the organisation had nothing to add beyond Wasserman’s statement.

Asked whether the resurfaced emails risked distracting from the upcoming Milano-Cortina Games, Coventry pointed to past Olympics that had faced controversies before opening ceremonies, including concerns over the Zika virus ahead of Rio 2016.

“Anything that is distracting from these Games is sad,” she said. “But we have learned over the many years … there has always been something that has taken the lead, leading up to the Games. What is keeping my faith alive is when the opening ceremony happens … suddenly the world remembers the magic and spirit the Games have.”

Wasserman, a prominent sports and entertainment executive, has been central to Los Angeles’s Olympic bid since its early stages and continues to lead preparations for the 2028 Summer Games, which were formally awarded to the city in 2017. He is due to present a progress update to the IOC session on Tuesday, even as questions swirl over how the renewed scrutiny may affect the image of the organising committee.