A Washington, D.C The committee tasked with investigating bribery allegations against City Council member Trayon White Sr. voted Monday to recommend expelling the lawmaker for allegedly accepting more than $150,000 in bribes.
The committee voted unanimously to recommend White’s expulsion after reviewing a report that found “significant evidence” that the city councilman had violated the D.C. Code of Conduct during his term.
Following the vote, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson released a statement on the committee’s decision.
“Let’s cut through the legal jargon. Trayon White is accused of accepting bribes,” Mendelson said. “Prosecutors have established probable cause, our own independent investigation has found substantial evidence that he took bribes, and officials have taken bribes.” forbidden to accept bribes. This is corruption par excellence.
DC Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White, Sr. speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony for The Asberry, the first on-site building constructed in Barry FarmHillsdale on November 21, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“There is only one cure: to Remove corruption from our bodies,” the councilor later added. “This incident has damaged the public trust necessary for the proper functioning of government. “Anything short of expulsion will not improve the situation.”
Over the summer, White was arrested on federal bribery charges after he was accused of accepting more than $150,000 from an employee in exchange for extending violence interruption contracts.
In response to the allegations, the council’s ad hoc committee commissioned an independent investigation, carried out by law firm Latham and Watkins LLP.
DC City Councilman Trayon White Sr. leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse on September 12, 2024 in Washington, DC (Michael A. McCoy for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The report was presented to the council last week and included a detailed analysis and 29 pieces of supporting evidence, FOX 5 in DC reported.
After reviewing documents, interviews, emails and texts, investigators found “substantial evidence that Councilor White violated council rules and several provisions of the code of conduct.”
Investigators specifically said White accepted cash from business owners in exchange for meeting with and influencing government officials to approve their contracts, the station reported.
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A photo of Trayon White Sr. from court documents allegedly shows him putting an envelope containing the $10,000 payment into his jacket pocket. (US Department of Justice)
The report also alleged that White had a ledger detailing the profits he wanted to make, including a 3% kickback on the grants he helped renew.
Mendelson and White did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.
The station reported that before Monday’s meeting, White said: “I want to say that in all of these interviews there was no hard evidence that no one said I tried to get her. And that’s why I’m confident.”
The council needed a five-sixths majority to pass an expulsion resolution, which is the harshest punishment available. An exclusion procedure should be initiated within 45 days in which White can defend himself.
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White Federal bribery allegations The trial is scheduled to begin in January 2026. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
