DOJ says it intends to retry Trayon White on additional charges
The Department of Justice said Thursday it not only intends to retry D.C. Councilmember Trayon White, but it also wants him to face additional charges.
During a hearing Thursday morning, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. said they intend to seek a superseding indictment against White.
Prosecutors said they hope to retry White sometime next year, and that could include more charges than the one bribery charge that ended in a mistrial in late September.
Gary Kohlman, the lead defense attorney for White, told the judge he believed that was an outrageous move orchestrated by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. He then accused Pirro of targeting White because he is African American.
The jury in the bribery trial of Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White split 9-to-three – in favor of acquittal, according to White’s attorney. The judge declared a mistrial Monday after the jury failed to reach a verdict following almost four days of deliberations.
“The fact of the matter is that Trayon White is African American. he represents by and large an African American community that has repeatedly elected him. He had nine people out of 12 that found him not guilty in this case, and I cannot think of any other explanation than the targeting and that, unfortunately, leads into the issue of discrimination,” Kohlman told reporters outside the courthouse.
Kohlman said if the government is successful in getting another indictment and retrying White, it is unlikely White can afford to continue to pay his same defense team. Kohlman claims that is a calculated move by the prosecutors to try to render White “defenseless.”
In a statement to News4, Pirro said: “We have video showing envelopes full of cash being handed to a D.C. Councilmember as part of a $156,000 bribe. The evidence, not baseless accusations about race or motive, will determine this case. Our responsibility is to follow the facts and pursue justice, not back down in the face of political pre
ssure or personal attacks. We will retry this case and take every corruption case to verdict.”
News4’s Ted Oberg breaks down the Trayon White bribery trial, the evidence jurors weighed and what happens next after they failed to reach a verdict.
White, who represents Ward 8, was arrested in 2024 on a charge that he accepted $35,000 in bribes in exchange for pressuring D.C. employees to extend city contracts for violence intervention services. Authorities said they secretly recorded conversations between White and an FBI informant who gave White the cash on four occasions. Prosecutors said White was offered a total of $156,000.
White was charged with bribery after he was seen on video accepting envelopes stuffed with cash. He pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence.
A judge declared a mistrial on Sept. 28 after jurors failed to agree on the verdict.
“This has been one of the hardest two years of my life, fighting the system,” White said outside the courthouse. “But through it all, I’m grateful. I’m humble, and I feel like I’m redeemed again.”
News4’s Paul Wagner asked White: If the $35,000 cash he accepted wasn’t a bribe, what was it?
“Let’s stick to the topic, man. Come on. You’re smarter than that. I can’t speak to that,” he replied.
“That is the topic,” Wagner said.
