DC Council Member Trayon White Sr. Bribery Trial Opens Over $156K Kickback Scheme
A federal jury in Washington heard opening arguments Tuesday in the bribery trial of DC Council member Trayon White Sr., accused of accepting $156,000 in kickbacks to steer city contracts.
DC Council Member Trayon White Sr. Goes on Trial for $156,000 Kickback Scheme
A federal jury in Washington heard opening arguments Tuesday in the bribery trial of D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr., Courthouse News Service reports. Prosecutors allege White accepted more than $156,000 in cash payments to steer city government contracts worth over $5 million to his brother-in-law.
White, a Democrat representing Ward 8 in southeastern Washington, faces a single count of bribery under 18 U.S. Code Section 201(b)(2). A conviction carries up to 15 years in prison and removal from office. He was arrested in August 2024 and pleaded not guilty on Sept. 12, 2024.
The alleged deal
Prosecutors identify the FBI informant at the center of the case as Allieu Kamara — White's brother-in-law and a government contractor who pleaded guilty in 2024 to accepting a $230,000 bribe. According to the initial criminal complaint, Kamara funneled cash to White in a "quid pro quo" arrangement to benefit Kamara's homeless services company, Life Deeds.
Justice Department prosecutor John Crabb Jr. presented video recordings from four separate meetings between June 26 and Aug. 9, 2024, in which Kamara handed White envelopes containing thousands of dollars in cash. The alleged arrangement promised White 3% of proceeds from Kamara's government contracts, which were collectively worth more than $5 million.
In footage from the first recorded meeting, Kamara handed White an envelope containing $15,000 in cash while White sat in Kamara's passenger seat. White repeatedly said he was "hurting" financially. "What do you need me to do, man?" White asked as the envelope was offered. "I don't want to feel like you've got to give me something to get something. We're better than that." He then placed the envelope in his jacket pocket before the two discussed what Kamara expected in return.
A comment Crabb emphasized throughout his opening: "Once you get me, if you lock eyes and get your understanding, I get to work," White told Kamara. Crabb argued those words showed White was willing to "sell his office as a D.C. Council member," violate his official duties and defraud the D.C. government.
Over three subsequent meetings, Kamara paid White an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $5,000, with the alleged kickback structure set to provide White up to $141,000 more.
Contract meetings and alleged pressure
Crabb highlighted a meeting involving Kelli Sneed, acting director of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, where White sought to extend Life Deeds' contract into additional wards. Sneed appeared confused by White's advocacy for the company, as Life Deeds did not operate in Ward 8, Crabb said.
At a third meeting with Kamara, White suggested he would have applied more direct pressure on Sneed, but held back because another person was present. At a fifth and final meeting on Aug. 18, White asked Kamara to pay him within a week. He was arrested after leaving the vehicle.
Defense: FBI entrapment, no quid pro quo
Defense attorney Warren Kohlman argued that Kamara — not White — was the primary offender, citing Kamara's history of government contract fraud, including through the Covid-19 Paycheck Protection Program. Kohlman called Kamara "corrupt to the bone" and said the FBI used him to induce White into committing a crime, describing their relationship as making the scheme "almost biblical."
"If there's no quid pro quo, there's nothing wrong, and it's certainly not bribery," Kohlman told the jury. He argued Kamara needed a "get-out-of-jail-free card" to avoid prison time following his 2024 plea deal and found it in White. In the first video, Kohlman said, White understood Kamara to be asking him simply to check on the status of Life Deeds contracts — a task well within his normal duties as a council member.
Trial logistics and political backdrop
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras is presiding. The jury was empaneled Monday, after the Justice Department raised concerns about a now-deleted social media post urging residents to respond to jury summonses — flagged as potential jury tampering. Contreras has not ruled on the matter.
The trial is expected to last two weeks. Scheduled witnesses include former D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah, Sneed and Kamara.
White took office as Ward 8 council member in 2017. He was expelled from office in February 2025 following his bribery indictment. Voters in Ward 8 narrowly reinstated him after he won a July 2025 special election by 252 votes, defeating fellow Democrats Sheila Bunn, Mike Austin and Salim Adofo.
Source: Courthouse News Service