D.C. lawmaker Trayon White’s fate in jury’s hands as deliberations enter second day
by Matt Delaney · The Washington TimesJury deliberations were underway for a second day on Thursday in the federal bribery case against D.C. Council member Trayon White, who is accused of agreeing to pocket more than $150,000 in exchange for steering city government contracts.
Mr. White, 41, could face up to 15 years in prison if the jury finds him guilty of bribery.
The Ward 8 Democrat would also lose his seat on the D.C. Council, which expelled him last year. He later won a special election to reclaim his seat. City law bars only convicted felons from serving as a lawmaker.
Jury deliberations began Wednesday amid some last-minute drama. Federal prosecutors filed a “Notice of Improper Juror Contact” after police observed a member of the public tell an alternate juror, shortly after dismissal, that they “broke our hearts. You were our hung jury.”
Mr. White’s lawyers also withdrew their argument that he was a victim of government entrapment.
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Matt Delaney
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