Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. are asking a federal judge to set a July trial date in the case of Trayon White Sr., the Ward 8 Council member facing corruption charges following his arrest in August.
In September, White rejected a plea offer from prosecutors. Now, they’re asking for jury selection to begin July 7, 2025.
In addition, prosecutors are asking for a special jury to be seated “because many members of the venire may have already gleaned a significant amount of information about this case or have formed strong opinions, or both. Additionally, many venire members may have preexisting travel plans during July,” according to the USAO filing posted Wednesday.
Prosecutors also want to use a special questionnaire ahead of time for the jury because “we believe that using a jury questionnaire is necessary in this case to ensure that an unbiased jury is selected, since this case involves a public figure and there has been significant media coverage.”
The government expects the case against White to be presented within two weeks, according to the documents.
The USAO also requested that a certain amount of time from the case not be excluded as “this case is ‘unusual (and) complex'” and the “case involves voluminous discovery.” White’s defense could file a motion for more time or a speedier trial, but U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves’ office says the time will be necessary to “prepare for trial.”
White’s lawyer, Fred Cooke, has not responded to the government’s motions, nor did he respond to a request for comment from WTOP.
In court, White pleaded not guilty to charges he accepted bribes from a business owner looking to have his contracts with city agencies extended. White is accused of receiving around $35,000 in cash from a confidential informant over the summer, with images of White allegedly receiving the bribes submitted by the government as evidence already.
Prosecutors said the contractor was also going to give White 3% of the value of any future contracts signed between his company and D.C.
White has not spoken publicly about the legal peril he’s facing.
Politically, White is up for reelection next month in Ward 8 and is still expected to win another term on the council.
However, last month, the rest of the D.C. Council began an ad hoc committee and hired a law firm to investigate the allegations separately. It’s not clear if White is willing to cooperate in that probe, which has until early December to wrap up.
White has the potential of being expelled from the council by his colleagues, depending on the results of that investigation.
The next court hearing for White is scheduled for Nov. 13, and that could be when a trial date is formally set.
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