Democrat, Trayon White has been arrested on a federal bribery charge that could unravel his career and shake the foundations of D.C. politics.
The audacious scheme revolves around an alleged $150,000 bribe, a sum for the promise of using his influential position to manipulate the system in favor of unscrupulous companies seeking lucrative city contracts.
At 40 years old, Mr. White, who faced defeat in a fiercely contested mayoral race in 2022, now finds himself in the crosshairs of federal investigators who have revealed the depths of his alleged corruption.
As he prepares for his initial court appearance on Monday, the details chillingly unfold. An FBI agent’s affidavit alleges that Mr. White, in June, eagerly agreed to pocket approximately $156,000 in kickbacks and cash payments, all in exchange for leveraging his power to pressure government agency employees into extending contracts for violence intervention services—two contracts valued at over $5 million.
The scandal deepens with the involvement of an FBI informant, poised to plead guilty to fraud and bribery charges, who disclosed a disturbing array of gifts lavished on Mr. White, including extravagant trips to the Dominican Republic and Las Vegas—an insidious blend of pleasure and corruption.
Adding to the gravity of his offenses, Mr. White accepted a shocking $20,000 bribe to intervene in a contentious contract dispute, exerting undue pressure on high-ranking district officials to achieve the desires of one of the companies in question.
Since his election to the D.C. council in 2017, Mr. White has represented a predominantly Black ward, a community grappling with a poverty rate nearly double that of the overall district, raising questions about accountability and representation.
As he gears up for a re-election battle against a Republican challenger this November, the specter of his alleged misdeeds looms large, casting a dark shadow over his political future.
