Mistrial Declared in Trayon White Bribery Case; Prosecutors Vow Retrial
Judge declares mistrial in D.C. Council member Trayon White's bribery case after jury deadlock; prosecutors plan to retry.
A federal judge declared a mistrial on Monday in the bribery case against Washington, D.C., Council member Trayon White after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict, according to court records.
White had pleaded not guilty to one count of bribery and has denied breaking the law. His trial opened on Sept. 15, and jurors began deliberating last Wednesday following several days of testimony. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras declared the mistrial after the panel indicated it could not agree, online court filings showed.
Justice Department prosecutors intend to retry White. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said White was captured on video receiving "piles of cash," which prosecutors described as part of a $156,000 bribe.
"Rest assured that we will retry this case and every corruption case to verdict," Pirro said in a statement.
White was arrested in 2024 on a charge that he accepted bribes in exchange for pressuring D.C. employees to extend city contracts for violence intervention services. Authorities say they secretly recorded conversations between White and an FBI informant who gave him $35,000 in cash on four occasions.
Other D.C. Council members voted unanimously to expel White after his arrest. He later won a special election to reclaim the Ward 8 council seat.