Files released by the U.S. Department of Justice included flirtatious emails between Casey Wasserman and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Published February 1, 2026
Los Angeles 2028 Olympics chief Casey Wasserman has apologized for his correspondence with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell after a series of private emails between the two were made public more than 20 years ago.
New files released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday about Ms. Maxwell’s ex-boyfriend, the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, include flirtatious email exchanges between Ms. Wasserman, who was married at the time, and Ms. Maxwell, who had been dating since 2003.
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Maxwell was convicted by a New York jury in 2021 of charges including sex trafficking of minors and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.
“I have never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said in a statement Sunday.
“I am very sorry to have had any association with either of them.”
Maxwell was arrested in 2020 after federal prosecutors accused her of recruiting and grooming girls for sexual encounters with Epstein between 1994 and 2004.
“I deeply regret my interactions with Ghislaine Maxwell,” Wasserman said, adding that the interactions took place before her and Epstein’s crimes “came to light.”
The International Olympic Committee, which is working very closely with Wasserman in preparing for the Summer Olympics, declined to comment on the matter.
“I believe Mr Wasserman has made a statement and I have nothing further to add,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said at a press conference ahead of the start of next week’s Milan-Cortina Olympics.
Asked whether Wasserman’s email was a distraction in the run-up to the Milan Olympics, Coventry said other Olympics had been preoccupied with pre-starting topics, such as the Zika virus before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“Anything that gets in the way of these tournaments is sad,” Coventry said.
“But we have learned over the years…that in the lead up to the Olympics there was always something leading the way. What keeps my faith alive is when the opening ceremony takes place…suddenly the world is reminded of the magic and spirit of the Olympics,” she said.
Wasserman, a sports and entertainment executive who has led the LA28 Olympic project since the bidding stage, is currently chairman of the organizing committee, which is scheduled to report on its progress at the IOC general meeting on Tuesday.
In 2017, the city was selected to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
