Washington — Federal prosecutors on Monday charged Trayon White, a member of the D.C. City Council, with one count of bribery, alleging he agreed to accept over $150,000 in exchange for steering millions of dollars in potential government contracts. 

White, who represents Ward 8 in Southeast D.C., was arrested by the FBI on Sunday. The FBI’s Washington Field Office declined to comment on his arrest. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the charge against White on Monday.

White made his first court appearance Monday afternoon and was released from custody. He and his attorney declined to comment when leaving the courthouse. He is due back in court on Sept. 19.

According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, White used his position as the head of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs to pressure city employees to extend government contracts worth $5.6 million to companies that work with high-risk youth and provide violence intervention services. 

Investigators said the unnamed owner of the companies secretly recorded conversations he had with White between June and August when the two allegedly discussed the government deals. The company owner entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors and cooperated with the investigation against White. 

The source paid White a total of $35,000 in cash over the course of four meetings, the affidavit said. The charging document included still images from the videos allegedly showing White accepting envelopes of cash:

In one of the alleged discussions, on July 17, the company owner-turned-government source proposed a 3% cut in the company’s contracts with the D.C. government. According to prosecutors, White appeared to agree to the deal. The conversation was also recorded, court documents said. 

That same day, after discussing potential partnerships tied to the city’s mental health care services, prosecutors alleged the company owner “handed White an envelope with $5,000.” White allegedly responded that he could “start making some s*** happen.”

Text messages included in the affidavit further revealed White’s efforts to secure renewals of the company’s contract in exchange for thousands of dollars, asking the government source to bring $10,000 to a July 25 meeting where they allegedly discussed the unnamed D.C. government employees who were in charge of renewing the contracts.

“It’s [Government Employee 4] and another lady. So [Government Employee 4] got to work to massage her… [Government Employee 4] got to work to massage the other [person]. But I’m going to stay in communication with [Government Employee 4] because [Government Employee 4] definitely gonna be helpful. But I think that was a small, that was the smaller one of the two,” White allegedly told the company owner.

Prosecutors said they brought the charges now to reveal the alleged wrongdoing before the contracts are finalized.

“Because the investigation into the alleged bribery scheme involved contracts that could soon be awarded and other potential official acts that could be taken, our Office took swift steps to address the alleged crimes we were investigating,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said.

The affidavit also alleges White took a $20,000 bribe from the confidential informant in 2020, when the source was embroiled in a multi-million dollar contract dispute with the city. In exchange for the $20,000, White tried to push city officials to resolve the matter with the company, investigators said. The source also told investigators he paid for White to travel to Las Vegas and the Dominican Republic, among other gifts.

A 40-year-old Washington native, White has served on the D.C. Council since 2017. He made headlines in 2018 when he endorsed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories positing that the Rothschild family controls the climate and World Bank. He later apologized to the Jewish community for his comments.