Trayon White federal bribery trial begins
Trayon White federal bribery trial begins
Opening statements begin Tuesday in the federal bribery trial of D.C. Councilmember Trayon White.
WASHINGTON - Opening statements begin Tuesday in the federal bribery trial of D.C. Councilmember Trayon White.
White is accused of accepting $35,000 in cash in exchange for using his office to help a government contractor.
FOX 5’s Maureen Umeh says the jury is in place, and later Tuesday morning prosecutors and defense attorneys will begin laying out two very different versions of what happened. White acknowledges that he accepted the cash. The question for the jury is why, and whether it was a bribe.
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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.
Prosecutors say White accepted four cash payments totaling $35,000 from a longtime associate who was working as an FBI informant. The government claims White agreed to use his position on the council to help extend D.C. violence intervention contracts.
Jurors are expected to see video that prosecutors say shows the informant handing White envelopes filled with cash. They may also see text messages between the two men.
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White has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys are expected to challenge whether the money was actually a bribe and attack the credibility of the government’s informant. The defense may also argue that White was pushed or pressured into accepting the payments.
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.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.