XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.law-enforcement, dc.politics   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: kamala@harris.helped   
      
   Washington, DC, Councilman Trayon White allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme   
   to use his elected position to keep government contracts flowing to two   
   companies, federal prosecutors say, accepting envelopes with thousands of   
   dollars in cash and lucrative    
   kickbacks.   
      
   White, who represents southeast DC, was arrested by the FBI Sunday and   
   appeared in court briefly on Monday, where he did not enter a plea.   
      
   As part of the alleged bribery scheme, White would get kickbacks from   
   multimillion-dollar city contracts related to violence intervention services   
   in DC. All told, White agreed to take $156,000 in cash for his work – or 3%   
   percent of the contracts’    
   value, prosecutors allege.   
      
   The scheme played out in recorded conversations, prosecutors said in court   
   documents. White made the alleged agreements with a local businessman who had   
   contracts with the DC government. That man, unbeknownst to White, had pleaded   
   guilty to federal    
   bribery charges and was working with law enforcement.   
      
   White’s office released a statement acknowledging the criminal complaint.   
      
   “We recognize the seriousness of this matter. We want to assure Ward 8   
   residents and stakeholders that our office remains fully operational and   
   steadfast in our commitment to serving the public,” the statement said.   
      
   White repeatedly indicated to the informant that he needed money, according to   
   recordings cited in court documents, saying that he was “hurting.” The   
   recordings described in court filings also show that the informant offered   
   White thousands of    
   dollars in cash to push city officials toward specific contracts that would   
   benefit his businesses, and to brainstorm additional contracts that they could   
   try to acquire in the future.   
      
   In one conversation, White was recorded asking the informant what they needed   
   from him.   
      
   “I don’t, I don’t wanna feel like you gotta gimme something to get   
   something. We better than that,” White said, before taking an envelope   
   filled with thousands in cash from the informant.   
      
   The councilman allegedly boasted about his influence, telling the informant   
   that “I’m a huge voice when it comes to violent prevention and the   
   Council” and that “I got great weight when it comes to violence”   
   initiatives.   
      
   https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/19/politics/washington-dc-councilman   
   trayon-white-accused-of-bribery/index.html   
      
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