DC politician arrested for taking $150,000 in bribes

A Washington DC councilman has been arrested for allegedly accepting $150,000 in bribes.

Trayon White Sr., a Democrat who ran an unsuccessful mayoral campaign in 2022, is accused of abusing his elected position to help companies win city contracts.

The FBI arrested White, 40, on a federal bribery charge Sunday. He is expected to make his initial court appearance Monday.

White was previously known for spreading irrefutable anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

An FBI agent’s affidavit shows that in June, White agreed to accept approximately $156,000 in bribes and cash payments in exchange for pressuring government agency employees to renew contracts with two companies for force intervention services.

The contacts were worth more than $5 million.

White also accepted a $20,000 bribe to resolve a contract dispute for one of the companies by pressuring senior district officials, the affidavit states.

An FBI informant who agreed to plead guilty to fraud and bribery indicated he gave White gifts, including trips to the Dominican Republic and Las Vegas, and paid him bribes, the FBI said.

White, who has served on the Washington, D.C., City Council since 2017, represents a predominantly black neighborhood where the poverty rate is nearly twice as high as the district as a whole.

In November, he will run for re-election against a Republican challenger.

White’s chief of staff and communications director did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The lawyer is also known for causing a storm of protest in March 2018 when he posted a short video on his Facebook page in which he claimed that the unexpected snowfall was due to “the Rothschilds manipulating the climate to cause natural disasters.”

Fellow council members and Jewish community leaders accused White of spreading an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jewish control over world events.

The Rothschilds, a prominent Jewish family whose banking dynasty dates back to the 18th century, are a frequent target of global conspiracy theories.

White later apologized for this comment.

He was initially surprised that some interpreted his comments as anti-Semitic. He told The Post, “The video says what it says.”

But after the controversy, White said he reached out to his “friends” at Jews United for Justice, who helped him “understand the history of the comments against Jews.”

White then attempted to reconcile with the Jewish community by visiting the Holocaust Museum, but this ended in disaster when he defended the Nazis during the 90-minute tour of the institution.

Looking at a 1935 photograph of a woman surrounded by Nazi soldiers with a sign around her neck reading, “I am a German girl and have allowed myself to be defiled by a Jewish woman,” White wondered, “Are they protecting her?”

“No,” the guide explained to White, according to the Washington Post. She added, “They’re marching her through.”

“To march on is to protect,” White said.

“I think they’re humiliating her,” the guide replied.

To make matters worse, White left early and texted Rabbi Batya Glazer, a director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, who was also present, that he was expected at a meeting.

However, White was seen walking aimlessly outside the museum.