The Trayon White bribery case is a federal public-corruption prosecution charging the D.C. councilmember with accepting cash to pressure city agencies into renewing violence-intervention contracts. The FBI arrested White on August 18, 2024, a grand jury indicted him on one count of bribery, the D.C. Council expelled him in February 2025, voters returned him to his Ward 8 seat in a July 2025 special election, and his trial is scheduled to begin September 14, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
What Prosecutors Say Trayon White Did
According to the criminal complaint and an FBI affidavit, White agreed to accept roughly $156,000 in cash, calculated as three percent of $5.2 million in D.C. government contract value, in exchange for using his council position to pressure employees at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) to extend violence-intervention contracts held by two companies.1U.S. Department of Justice. DC City Councilmember Arrested Bribery Charge Violence-intervention work was a signature issue for White during his years on the Council.
Prosecutors allege White received $35,000 in cash across four meetings with a confidential human source on June 26, July 17, July 25, and August 9, 2024. The Justice Department says the meetings and cash exchanges were captured on video, and that the source showed White a document calculating his three-percent cut of the contract values.1U.S. Department of Justice. DC City Councilmember Arrested Bribery Charge
The FBI affidavit also describes conduct that predates those 2024 payments. It alleges that White previously accepted a $20,000 payment to try to resolve a contract dispute involving the Department of Human Services, and that the source had gifted him trips to the Dominican Republic and Las Vegas.2Courthouse News Service. DC Council Member Slapped With Federal Bribery Charges The affidavit further alleges that White threatened to withhold support for the confirmation of an ONSE official to a permanent leadership role unless that official backed the renewal of the source’s contracts.3WUSA9. Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint – Trayon White
Who the Confidential Source Is
The confidential human source was later identified in reporting as Allieu Badara Kamara Jr., the founder of Life Deeds, a nonprofit that had received millions in D.C. government contracts to serve vulnerable residents.4Washington Post. Life Deeds Allieu Kamara Trayon White DC Contracts In October 2024, court documents revealed Kamara had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, related to a pandemic-era loan program, and to bribery involving a payment to a city employee to steer contracts to his business. Kamara cooperated with federal investigators as part of the case against White.5Washington Times. Allieu Badara Kamara Jr. Pleads Guilty to Bribing
The Charge and the Plea
A federal grand jury indicted White on September 5, 2024, on one count of bribery under 18 U.S.C. ยง 201(b)(2). The case, United States v. Trayon White, Sr., No. 24-cr-00406, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.6DC Council. Report for Ad Hoc Committee White pleaded not guilty.
Expulsion From the D.C. Council
After the arrest, the Council formed an Ad Hoc Committee to examine whether White had violated its Code of Conduct and retained Latham & Watkins as outside counsel. The firm gathered roughly 20,000 documents and interviewed officials from DYRS, ONSE, and current and former members of White’s staff. White, through his attorney, declined two interview requests and refused to produce requested materials, including communications with agency officials and bank statements.6DC Council. Report for Ad Hoc Committee
On February 7, 2025, the Council voted unanimously to expel White. The vote relied on findings that he had violated the Code of Conduct, supported by video evidence and the outside counsel report. The Council called the action “unprecedented in fifty years of Home Rule history.” D.C. rules require a five-sixths vote for expulsion on grounds of “serious malfeasance”; in earlier cases involving weighty accusations, members had resigned before the Council could act, and no previous member had been expelled.7DC Council. Council Expels Trayon White
How He Won His Seat Back
Because White had not been convicted of a felony, D.C. law did not bar him from running for office, and he announced his candidacy for the special election to fill his own vacated seat soon after the expulsion.8NBC Washington. Trayon White Announces Campaign for DC Council Seat Weeks After He Was Expelled
The special election was held on July 15, 2025. Turnout was about 12 percent of registered voters, fewer than 6,800 ballots total, and the field split four ways. White won with roughly 29.5 percent, ahead of Sheila Bunn at 24 percent, Mike Austin at about 23.5 percent, and Salim Adofo at 22 percent.9Axios. Trayon White Wins Ward 8 Election The D.C. Board of Elections certified the results, and White was sworn in again on August 8, 2025.10WJLA. Ward 8 Special Election Results Certified Trayon White Winner
Only Ward 7’s Wendell Felder attended the ceremony, and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson offered no public comment. The Council had considered a rule change clarifying that an expelled member could be removed again without new evidence if reelected, but Mendelson withdrew the proposal amid concerns that the discussion fell too close to the special election.11Washington Post. DC Council Trayon White Rule
Pretrial Rulings and the September 2026 Trial Date
The trial has been postponed several times. Originally scheduled for January 2026, it was moved to late March 2026 and then to September 14, 2026, after U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras granted a defense request for additional time to review evidence.12Washington Times. DC Council Member Trayon White Bribery Trial Pushed Back September
At a February 2026 pretrial hearing, White’s defense team signaled it may argue that the FBI “set him up,” raising the possibility of an entrapment defense. Prosecutors asked the judge to bar the defense from using terms like “entrapment” or “set up” in front of jurors.13WJLA. Trayon White DC Council Federal Court Bribery Case Pretrial Hearing White is represented by Frederick D. Cooke Jr., who previously served as defense lawyer for former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry.14Newsday. DC Council Trayon White Charges Barry
In May 2026, Judge Contreras denied several key motions. He rejected White’s motion to dismiss the bribery charge, in which the defense argued that the four alleged cash payments should be treated as separate offenses; the judge ruled the payments were “part of a single, continuing scheme.” He also denied a defense request to exclude evidence of White’s gambling, finding it relevant to the prosecution’s account of how White used the cash he received. Prosecutors had obtained 767 pages of casino records from MGM Resorts International at National Harbor.15WTOP. A DC Councilmember’s Bribery Trial Is Now Set for September16Washington City Paper. Trayon White Gambling Evidence Bribery The judge did deny a prosecution request to block White from raising an entrapment defense, leaving that argument available at trial.
White continues to serve on the D.C. Council representing Ward 8 while awaiting trial. His current term runs through January 2, 2029.17DC Council. Councilmember Trayon White Sr.