D.C. Council member Trayon White’s arrest Sunday was in connection with a bribery charge, federal authorities say. Documents filed in U.S. District Court say the Ward 8 council member was caught on video taking tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from a business owner seeking help renewing his companies’ violence-interruption contracts with the D.C. government.
In an news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of D.C. said White agreed to accept a total of $156,000 in cash payments from the business owner in exchange for pressuring D.C. government employees at two different agencies to extend those contracts.
As a council member, White was the chairman of a committee that oversaw some of the District’s violence-interruption efforts.
White, 40, who has represented Ward 8 on the D.C. Council since being elected in 2016, appeared in U.S. District Court on Monday. He was released from custody and forced to surrender his passport. His next court date is Sept. 19.
Trayon White just left the federal courthouse flanked by supporters. Said nothing. @WTOP pic.twitter.com/AHgbhQ7Ozu
— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) August 19, 2024
All told, the two contracts with the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services were valued at $5.2 million. The payments to White represented about 3% of the total contract value, according to prosecutors.
The agreement with the company owner, including the payments to White of $35,000 on four separate occasions, was captured on video, federal prosecutors said in a news release.
The complaint says the scheme involving the violence-interruption contracts started in June 2024 when White agreed to meet with the business owner.
In a meeting in the company owner’s car outside White’s apartment building in Southeast D.C., the company owner wanted to know if the contracts would be extended and offered to pay $15,000 for the information, according to the documents.
White replied, “What you need me to do, man? I don’t wanna feel like you gotta gimme something to get something. We better than that,” according to court documents. However, White put the envelope containing the money into his jacket pocket.
From there, the two continued to meet over the summer, as White updated the business owner on his efforts — and continued to accept envelopes full of cash. The meetings were captured on video, according to court documents.
Mayor Muriel Bowser was asked to comment on White’s arrest during back-to-school festivities and said she hadn’t yet been able to look at court documents that lay out the accusations against him.
“I think any time you have an elected official that does something wrong or is accused of doing something wrong, people are going to have a lot of heartburn and serious questions and disappointment and anger and all of those things,” Bowser said. “When I know more, we will definitely say if there’s any impact on government operations.”
White was arrested by the FBI on Sunday. Initially, there were few details surrounding the arrest.
“Both public trust and integrity in elected officials is critically important,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said in a statement Sunday. “We’re trying to gather the facts at this time.”
This is developing and willl be updated. Check back with WTOP for the latest.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
