Jury hears evidence in DC Councilmember Trayon White’s federal bribery trial
Jury hears evidence in DC Councilmember Trayon White’s federal bribery trial
The jury heard evidence in D.C. Councilmember Trayon White’s federal bribery trial Tuesday.
WASHINGTON - D.C. Councilmember Trayon White was back in court Tuesday as opening statements began, and the jury heard evidence in his federal bribery trial.
What we know:
White is charged with a single count of felony bribery. He has pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that White accepted cash payments with the corrupt intent to influence and extend government contracts using his position as a councilmember.
Twelve jurors and two alternates were sworn in on Monday after two days of jury selection. The panel of D.C. residents includes nine women and five men.
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The prosecution showed several videos of White accepting cash from a man named Allieu Kamara.
Kamara was a D.C. businessman who was charged with crimes related to the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. He agreed to record himself and White as part of a deal to avoid years in prison and millions in criminal penalties.
The defense is trying to paint Kamara as a corrupt businessman turned FBI informant who is just out to help himself.
The court has not yet heard from Kamara, but the FBI agent who signed the complaint against White walked the jury through multiple videos where he hands White thousands of dollars in cash. The two then discuss contracts that Kamara wants to extend for his businesses with the D.C. government. The contracts were largely related to violence interruption programs.
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In one video, Kamara shows White the value of each of his business contracts with the D.C. government, which ranged from $2.7 million to $500,000. He then tells White he can pay him 3% of the value of those contracts — totaling $156,000 — if White can get them renewed.
Kamara can be heard in the video asking White, "Are these good with you?" White replies that they are good and can worry about the money later.
"I still need to do some work…I’m going to put everything in place and get it in motion," White is heard saying in the video.
White also tells Kamara that he spoke with Kwelli, presumably Kwelli Sneed, who now leads the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and oversees these contracts. White is heard telling Kamara that he was not able to talk to Kwelli as discreetly as he needed to because someone else was in the room.
The secretly recorded videos capture several meetings between White and Kamara. Photos and documents presented as evidence showed that on four occasions, White accepted cash from Kamara, and did not attempt to return it.
The defense has already agreed to admit that White accepted the cash. Their position seems to be that this was part of his relationship and regular dealings with Kamara, not corruption. The question for the jury is why, and whether it was a bribe.
The defense also tried to suggest that perhaps Kamara owed White money.
As the defense cross-examined the FBI agent, they asked about Kamara telling agents that he bribed multiple D.C. officials, including the mayor. However, more details on that have not yet been shared.
If convicted, White faces up to 15 years in prison and could once again lose the council seat he reclaimed after voters returned him to office.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.