Judge declares mistrial in Trayon White bribery trial

A federal judge declared a mistrial in D.C. Council member Trayon White’s bribery trial after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict, leaving the central question of whether he intended to participate in a bribery scheme unresolved. White can remain on the council for now, and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said prosecutors would retry the case. The jury’s deadlock followed deliberations over allegations that White accepted $35,000 from former city contractor Allieu Kamara and agreed to seek more than $150,000 in kickbacks. Kamara was cooperating with the FBI and secretly recorded interactions with White, prosecutors said. The government argued that White accepted the money in exchange for using his council position to advance Kamara’s interests. White pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. His defense acknowledged that he accepted money but argued prosecutors had not proved he intended a corrupt official act. His attorneys said the payments could have been campaign donations and disputed that the evidence established a bribery agreement. The jury did not reach a verdict on those competing interpretations.