Trayon White, a D.C. Councilmember facing a federal bribery charge, was released after a mistrial was declared in his case. The Office of U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro stated that there are plans in motion to retry the case. Jurors reached their decision concerning White on the fourth day of deliberations. “This has been one of the hardest two years of my life, fighting the system,” White told members of the press outside the courthouse.
“But through it all, I’m grateful. I’m humble, and I feel like I’m redeemed again,” he added. White, who is the representative for Ward 8, was arrested in 2024 on a charge that he accepted a total of $35,000 in bribes to apply pressure to employees in D.C. to extend city contracts for violence intervention services. White was caught due to conversations with an FBI informant being recorded.
During those conversations, White was given cash by the informant. This happened on four different occasions. Prosecutors working the case say that White was offered $156,000. He was charged with bribery after he was captured on video accepting envelopes that were stuffed with cash. He then pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained his innocence ever since.
According to a report from NBC Washington, Pirro disclosed the reason she wants to retry the case. “We have video showing piles of cash being given to a D.C. councilmember as part of a $156,000 bribe. Rest assured that we will retry this case and every corruption case to verdict,” Pirro went on to say in a statement.
Reporters confronted White about the $35,000, asking him if it wasn’t a bribe, then what was it? “Let’s stick to the topic, man. Come on. You’re smarter than that. I can’t speak to that,” he retorted. The reporter pressed White saying, “That is the topic.” White then danced around the question by saying he was going to get back to work on ensuring equity and inclusion.
“There was no there there. And the jury, under careful deliberations – in fact, the jury deliberated longer than the trial lasted. The prosecutor didn’t submit sufficient enough evidence to convict me of a crime. There was no crime in the first place,” White said. He then evoked former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and the probe into Nolan Wells’ death, stating that he’s considering a law degree.
“There are too many brothers and sisters that look like me that never make it out the courtroom,” he said, transforming the case against him from one about corrupt politicians into racism. White then gave a big thank you to his supporters and other prominent figures, including Janeese Lewis George, who is the current Democratic Party nominee for mayor.
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Not long after the mistrial, White took to his social media accounts to thank God and his supporters, stating that he was going to celebrate at the Players Lounge, an establishment located on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Barry, White’s hero, often held events there, including while he was in the throes of a major legal battle in the early 1990s.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video