The ethics board for the D.C. government has censured Council member Trayon White and fined him $900 for failing to disclose his personal finances three separate times.
White violated the city’s code of conduct and undermined the public trust when he missed the deadlines to disclose his finances in November 2024, May 2025 and November 2025, the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability said in its decision Monday.
Council members are required to file a Public Financial Disclosure Statement (PFDS) twice a year and White was aware of his obligation to file, the board said.
“Public service is a public trust. The requirement for elected officials to file public financial
disclosures stems from the recognition that they should be held to a higher standard,” Norma Hutcheson, chairperson for the board, said in the decision. “The Council held themselves to that higher standard by requiring that Councilmembers file semiannual disclosure reports, instead of the annual reports required for other public officials … [White’s] failure to file the three reports at issue undermines that public confidence.”
White is expected to go to trial later this year for a federal bribery charge. He was indicted in 2024, accused of agreeing to accept $156,000 in exchange for using his position to pressure employees of the D.C. Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) to extend several contracts, prosecutors said.
White received $35,000 in four cash payments in the alleged scheme, according to court documents.
He was reelected to the Ward 8 seat after the D.C. Council expelled him in February 2025.
In January, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said she “can’t wait” for White’s trial.
“I expect a conviction,” she added. “I think the evidence is solid. I’ve seen the evidence. I don’t like individuals who work for government – whether it’s federal, state, local – and who use that as an opportunity to line their pockets. It’s unacceptable.”
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/lnPx3cY
0 Comments