DC Council chairman reveals more concerns about member arrested by FBI on bribery charges

District of Columbia Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is establishing a committee to address the allegations against Councilman Trayon White and will be removing him from his committees.

"The federal charges against Council member Trayon White are deeply disturbing," Mendelson wrote. "Notwithstanding the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty, the allegations, together with the government's affidavit, are a gut punch to the public trust in the Council."

On Sunday evening, FBI agents arrested White outside of a luxury high-rise building in Navy Yard.

White, who is the chairman of the council's Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs, which oversees several agencies, including the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, was arrested on bribery charges.

The complaint alleges in June 2024, White agreed to accept $156,000 in cash payments in exchange for pressuring the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and the DYRS to extend several D.C. contracts valued at $5.2 million. The contracts were for two companies to provide violence intervention services. White was supposed to use his position as the chairman of the committee to ensure the contracts would be renewed. The $156,000 that he accepted was valued to be 3% of the contracts' total value.

He received four separate cash payments of $35,000 on June 26, July 17, July 25, and Aug. 9, 2024.

Mendelson said he would also be investigating accusations that White was living in the high-rise in District 6 rather than in District 8. He does own a house in District 8.

This investigation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI Washington Field Office, the D.C. Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Washington Field Office.

“Because the investigation into the alleged bribery scheme involved contracts that could soon be awarded and other potential official acts that could be taken, our Office took swift steps to address the alleged crimes we were investigating,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said.

The two-term councilman represents Ward 8 in Southeast Washington, where a quarter of residents live below the poverty line.

White made headlines six years ago when he shared a video accusing Jews of having control of the weather.

In June, White won his party’s nomination after beating out two Democratic challengers, and with no serious Republican challengers, he was expected to win his seat in November.

White was previously fined $40,000 by the Campaign Finance Office for failing to provide requested documentation to correct discrepancies in how thousands of dollars were reported in both his 2022 mayoral campaign and his 2020 reelection campaign bid.

White lost the primary election in 2022 for mayor and captured less than 9% of the vote. In its investigation into White’s haphazard campaign launched on Instagram, the Campaign Finance Office found that $58,000 of White's campaign funds were not properly accounted for.

White appealed the fines associated with his 2020 campaign in May, but the problems with his 2022 mayoral campaign are unresolved.

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Mendelson said he was unaware the FBI was investigating White.

The Justice Department guidelines discourage officials from taking public steps in an investigation of a public official or a political candidate, such as making arrests and serving subpoenas, if it is within 60 days of an election in an effort to prevent influence. However, White’s election is more than 60 days away.