A federal judge declared a mistrial in Washington, D.C., Council member Trayon White’s bribery trial after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict. Prosecutors plan to retry him over allegations he took cash to help extend city contracts; White pleaded not guilty.
The charge stems from allegations that White took payments from an associate in return for using his position to pressure D.C. employees to extend contracts for violence-intervention services. Prosecutors cited video of White receiving “piles of cash” as part of an alleged $156,000 bribe. Authorities say an FBI informant gave him $35,000 in cash on four occasions, and secretly recorded conversations between them.
After White’s 2024 arrest, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to expel him. He later won a special election to regain the Ward 8 seat vacated by his expulsion.
