Federal bribery trial for DC Council member opens

Trayon White Sr. faces one count of bribery for accepting approximately $156,000 in kickback payments and faces up to 15 years in prison and removal from office if a jury convicts him.WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal jury heard opening arguments Tuesday in the bribery trial of D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr., who prosecutors argue accepted over $156,000 in payments to extend several city government contracts to his brother-in-law.White, a Democrat who represents Ward 8 in southeastern Washington, faces up to 15 years in prison and would be removed from office if the 12-person jury finds him guilty. He was arrested in August 2024 and pleaded not guilty to the single charge, under 18 U.S. Code Section 201 (b)(2), on Sept. 12, 2024.According to prosecutors’ initial criminal complaint, White accepted the payments from an FBI informant — now identified as Allieu Kamara, his brother-in-law and a government contractor who pleaded guilty in 2024 to taking a $230,000 bribe — in a “quid pro quo” deal to help Kamara’s homeless services company Life Deeds.U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras is presiding over the trial and empaneled the jury on Monday, after the Justice Department raised concerns about a now-deleted social media post urging residents to respond to jury summonses as potential jury tampering. Contreras has not ruled on the issue.Justice Department prosecutor John Crabb Jr. presented videos from four separate meetings between June 26 and Aug. 9, 2024, where Kamara handed over envelopes containing thousands of dollars in cash as part of an alleged deal to pay White 3% of the proceeds from Kamara’s government contracts. The contracts were worth more than $5 million.“Once you get me, if you lock eyes and get your understanding, I get to work,” White said to Kamara, which Crabb highlighted throughout his opening arguments.That comment, Crabb argued, meant White was willing to defraud the D.C. government, violate his official duties as an elected official and “sell his office as a D.C. Council member.”Warren Kohlman, White’s defense attorney, argued that Kamara was the primary offender, citing his history of engaging in government contract fraud, including through the Covid-19 Paycheck Protection Program, and calling him “corrupt to the bone.”The FBI used Kamara to induce White into committing a crime, Kohlman argued, describing their relationship as making the scheme “almost biblical.” But White did not take the bait, he said.“If there’s no quid pro quo, there’s nothing wrong, and it’s certainly not bribery,” Kohlman told the jury. He argued Kamara needed a “get-out-of-jail-free card” to avoid prison-time stemming from the 2024 plea deal and found it in White.According to the recording — which included images of White sitting in Kamara’s passenger seat — Kamara handed White an envelope containing $15,000 in cash. White repeatedly indicated he needed money, saying that he was “hurting.”“What do you need me to do, man?” White asked as Kamara offered the envelope. “I don’t want to feel like you’ve got to give me something to get something. We’re better than that.”According to the recording, White then took the envelope and placed it in his jacket pocket before discussing what Kamara wanted him to do in exchange, including arranging a meeting with an appointed public official in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration regarding the status of Kamara’s contracts.Over the next three meetings, Kamara paid White $5,000, $10,000 and another $5,000, with the alleged 3% kickback deal set to provide White up to $141,000 more.Crabb highlighted a meeting with Kelli Sneed, acting director of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, where White sought to extend the contract for Life Deeds to operate in additional wards. According to Crabb, Sneed seemed confused why White was advocating for the company, as it did not operate in Ward 8.Crabb further highlighted a comment by White in the third meeting with Kamara that suggested he would have pressured Sneed directly, but there was another person in the room during the meeting.At a fifth and final meeting on Aug. 18, White asked Kamara to pay him within a week, but was ultimately arrested after leaving the car.Kohlman argued that in the first video, when White told Kamara he did not need to be given anything to do something, White understood Kamara to be requesting he check the status of contracts for Life Deeds, well within his normal duties as council member.The trial is expected to run for two weeks, with testimony from former D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah, Sneed and Kamara.White, who took office as council member in 2017, was expelled from office in Feb. 2025 following his bribery indictment, but voters in Ward 8 narrowly restored him to office after he won the July 2025 special election by 252 votes, beating fellow Democrats Sheila Bunn, Mike Austin and Salim Adofo.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads