Miami
Federal bribery trial opens for D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr.
Prosecutors say the Ward 8 lawmaker took cash payments to help a company linked to his brother-in-law secure city contract extensions. The defense argues there was no illegal exchange and that the contractor, who already pleaded guilty in another case, was trying to save himself.
The federal bribery trial of Washington council member Trayon White Sr. opened Tuesday with opening statements, Courthouse News reported. Prosecutors accuse the Ward 8 Democrat of taking more than $156,000 in payments to help extend several D.C. government contracts tied to his brother-in-law.
According to the outlet, White is charged with one count of bribery. If convicted by the 12-member jury, he could face up to 15 years in prison and removal from office. He was arrested in August 2024 and pleaded not guilty the following month.
Prosecutors say the payments came from Allieu Kamara, White’s brother-in-law, a government contractor and FBI informant. Kamara pleaded guilty in 2024 to receiving a $230,000 bribe. The original criminal complaint alleges a quid pro quo arrangement meant to benefit Life Deeds, Kamara’s homeless services company.
Courthouse News said prosecutor John Crabb Jr. played videos from four meetings held between June 26 and Aug. 9, 2024, in which Kamara handed White envelopes containing thousands of dollars in cash. The government alleges White was to receive 3% of the proceeds from Kamara’s public contracts, which were worth more than $5 million.
Among the evidence discussed in court was a recording in which Kamara gave White an envelope containing $15,000 in cash. Prosecutors say White then pocketed the money and discussed actions Kamara wanted in return, including setting up a meeting with an official in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration about the status of those contracts. In the next three meetings, Kamara allegedly paid White another $5,000, $10,000 and $5,000, while the alleged 3% arrangement could have brought White up to $141,000 more.
The government also highlighted a meeting with Kelli Sneed, acting director of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, where White sought to expand Life Deeds’ contract into additional wards. According to the prosecution, Sneed appeared confused about why White was advocating for the company because it did not operate in Ward 8.
White’s attorney, Warren Kohlman, argued that Kamara was the main wrongdoer and pointed to his history of fraud involving government contracting, including through the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program. He also said the FBI used Kamara to push White into committing a crime, but that White did not go along with it.
Courthouse News reported that Kohlman told jurors there could be no bribery without a clear quid pro quo. He also argued that Kamara was seeking to avoid prison time after his 2024 plea deal and saw White as a way to help himself.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras is overseeing the case. He seated the jury Monday after the Justice Department raised concerns about a deleted social media post urging residents to respond to jury summonses. Contreras has not yet ruled on that issue, the outlet said.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks. Planned witnesses include former D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah, Kelli Sneed and Kamara.
White took office in 2017. Courthouse News reported that he was expelled in February 2025 after the bribery indictment, but won his seat back in a July 2025 special election by 252 votes over Sheila Bunn, Mike Austin and Salim Adofo.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
