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Within less than an hour, a D.C. Council ad hoc committee weighed in on, and unanimously approved, a motion to expel D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) from the legislative body. 

On Dec. 16, White, who’s currently facing a federal bribery charge, sat in the front row of the council chambers gallery as he watched his colleagues, from the dais and virtually, affirm their support for expulsion. At one point, White spoke in opposition as D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) outlined the details of an independent report substantiating the notion that White violated the D.C. Code of Conduct and council rules, as it relates to the federal bribery charge.

Several minutes before the ad hoc committee meeting, White had a bit more to say as he decried the report’s findings. 

“The law firm was paid about $400,000 allegedly and spent four months doing an investigation,” White told reporters in reference to Latham & Watkins LLP, the firm tapped by the ad hoc committee to conduct an independent investigation into allegations that White accepted bribes and misrepresented his Ward 8 residency. 

The report didn’t substantiate the allegation that White misrepresented his residency. On Dec. 16, he emphasized that the same applies to the bribery allegation. 

“It’s a 48-page document. There’s been no clear evidence of anyone saying I tried to bribe them. I’m confident in that,” White continued.

The two-term council member and Ward 8 native also alluded to the electoral victory that secured his third council term.

“Just last month, over 20,000 people in Ward 8 decided they wanted me to be their council member. We’re sticking to that,” White said. “We want the council to do what’s within its rights to do. We accept that [but] we want to continue to stay unified as a community. As a city.” 

Councilmembers Talk about What They Call a Difficult, But Necessary Decision 

White faces allegations that he accepted $35,000 in cash bribes and entered an agreement with government informant Alleiu Kamara to use his council position to direct violence interruption contracts toward the latter’s nonprofit, .

In January 2026, White will stand trial. He faces 15 years of imprisonment if found guilty. 

Within 45 days, the ad hoc committee will make its final vote on White’s expulsion during a proceeding where the Ward 8 council member will be allowed to defend himself and present public witnesses if he so chooses. 

On Dec. 16, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) mentioned Jan. 28, 2025 as the tentative date. 

Last week, the council’s ad hoc committee, composed of all of White’s council colleagues, circulated Latham & Watkins LLP’s independent report, which all members, with the exception of an absent D.C. Councilmember Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), unanimously voted to adopt. 

During the 11-week investigation, Latham & Watkins LLP collected more than 200,000 pages of materials, including documents provided by White council staffers and D.C. government officials. They also sifted through White’s financial disclosures, tax records and property records. Key findings include a timeline of White’s inquiries about violence interrupter contracts with officials in the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) around the same time he allegedly accepted Kamara’s cash payments. 

For the investigation, interviewees included employees in ONSE and DYRS, former and current White council staffers, and those who work at 10K Hill South Apartments, the Ward 6 residence where federal agents arrested White on Aug. 18. 

Latham & Watkins LLP said that the nine former and current White council staffers told investigators that, despite engaging DYRS and ONSE as part of their responsibilities, they didn’t recall having conversations with him about particular grants and grantees. 

White declined interview, as well as Kamara, a DYRS official, and a tenant of 10K Hill South Apartments, Latham & Watkins LLP’s report said. 

In their assertion that White violated the D.C. Code of Conduct and D.C. Council rules, Latham & Watkins LLP cited provisions obligating elected officials to maintain a “high level of conduct in connection with the performance of…official duties” and not use their official position or title to “attempt to influence the outcome of a particular matter.” 

Other violations mentioned involve White’s alleged acceptance of gifts and his representation of another entity before a District agency.  

On Dec. 16, McDuffie, who also served as chair of previous ad hoc committees to address alleged ethical violations of then-D.C. Councilmembers Marion S. Barry and Jack Evans, said that the evidence overwhelmingly compels the ad hoc committee’s decision. 

He would later double down on this perspective in a statement.  

“I am profoundly disappointed in the conduct of Trayon White, but the evidence is clear that, whether or not his actions rise to the level of a criminal conviction, they constitute a violation of the council’s code of conduct and, more importantly, the public’s trust,” McDuffie said. “Residents depend on their elected officials to act with integrity and make thoughtful decisions that prioritize the community’s best interests… The investigative report has made it clear that Councilmember Trayon White failed to uphold these fundamental principles.”

Mendelson also called the decision to expel White a matter of regaining the public’s trust. 

“Let’s cut through the legal jargon. Trayon White is accused of taking bribes,” Mendelson said on the dais. “The prosecutors have established probable cause, our own independent investigation found substantial evidence that he took bribes, and public servants are prohibited from taking bribes. This is quintessential corruption. This incident has damaged the public trust necessary for [the] government to function well.  Anything less than expulsion will not rectify the situation.”

While D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At large) expressed similar thoughts, he had some words of advice for his Ward 8 colleague. 

“It’s my hope that Trayon White will not see the process through but get help,” At large Councilmember White said, citing Evans’ 2019 resignation from the council after the ad hoc committee’s decision to expel him. “If the council proceeds with the expulsion vote, that’s a difficulty for Ward 8 and the city.” 

Before affirming his support for White’s expulsion, D.C. Councilmember Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3) took a walk down memory lane, telling his colleagues about the work he’s seen the Ward 8 council member do for nearly a decade. 

“We should not discount what Trayon White brought to his community,” Frumin said before zeroing in on the findings of the independent report. “There could be a world where White is not found guilty in the court of law, and time will tell. But there’s… unrefuted evidence. It makes clear that he violated his oath. Our lack of action would further undermine confidence.” 

Meanwhile, D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) didn’t mince words as she spoke about the gravity of White’s alleged actions. 

“These were not small or technical violations, not honest mistakes,” Nadeau said as she expressed the council’s obligation to Ward 8 voters. “We are called to the highest standards of professional conduct. We have substantial evidence that Councilmember White didn’t uphold that…We must act to ensure the residents of Ward 8 have the honorable representation they deserve.” 

Community Members Weigh In 

Some of the residents, political leaders and activists who attended the Dec. 16 ad hoc committee hearing said they wanted an outcome more reflective of Ward 8 voters’ desires.

 As the proceeding went on, tensions increased, so  much so that McDuffie, at one point, requested that people not speak out of turn from the gallery. 

White’s supporters reserved some of their comments until the conclusion of the hearing, when many of them continued to criticize what Fria Moore described to The Informer as an infringement on the affairs of a majority-Black jurisdiction.  

“It’s about democracy,” said Moore, an advisory neighborhood commissioner-elect hailing from Anacostia and key figure in Ward 8 Councilmember White’s previous electoral campaigns. “We can’t allow them to first convince us to vote for our officials and be heard and then turn around and say that our voice can be subject to the opinions of the council.” 

Moore told The Informer that, amid the independent investigation and federal court proceedings, White has been engaging his constituents, and Ward 8 leaders have returned the favor, all in the name of unity. 

“We’re deciding to work for each other and how Ward 8 moves forward,” Moore said. “We don’t want to be bullied and forced into other people’s options. Trayon is working with all the Ward 8 leaders on this matter to gain our confidence in how we move forward. We want to do it together. We have a lot of unfinished business.” 

As explained in a letter that executive committee members of the Ward 8 Democrats circulated in support of their council member, some of that unfinished business includes: Fiscal Year 2026 deliberations, senior and youth programming; and economic development initiatives. 

The executive committee, in their letter, said that “immediate” expulsion would create a “power vacuum” in Ward 8, jeopardizing residents’ ability to weigh in on decisions of importance. 

“The democratic process demands careful consideration before any action disenfranchising an entire community’s electoral choice,” the Ward 8 Democrats’ executive committee said in their letter, also referencing White’s electoral victory. “While we take the allegations against Councilmember White extremely seriously, we must emphasize the critical importance of due process. Our fundamental legal principles dictate that an individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

There was at least one person in the council chambers who full-throatedly called for Ward 8 Councilmember White’s expulsion — Ward 5 resident and community leader Robert Vinson Brannum. 

Remarks that Brannum sent to council members on the morning of Dec. 16 built upon previous comments he made before the council’s Committee of the Judiciary and Public Safety as it, in response to White’s August arrest, scrutinized the District’s violence interruption programming. 

“Let’s be clear and honest. The Nov. 5 Ward 8 election vote was not a denunciation of the report of investigation,” Brannum said in his letter. “Because others have fallen and others will fall does not justify the fall. Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White not only betrayed the residents of Ward 8, but he also jeopardized the integrity of all District elected officials to serve in the public’s best interest.”