Though given another opportunity to respond to the findings of an investigation substantiating bribery allegations against him, D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D) remained silent throughout much of a public hearing conducted to discuss his expulsion from the legislative body.
However, White’s former attorney, Fred D. Cooke Jr., sat next to the Ward 8 council member at a table designated for public witnesses. For several minutes, he spoke on White’s behalf, laying out what some called a cogent argument questioning not only the timing of the expulsion resolution, but the council’s ability to facilitate such a process, as outlined in the Home Rule Act and the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Amendment Act of 2011.
“There’s no state that allows the expulsion of a legislator upon being indicted,” Cooke said on the afternoon of Jan. 28 in regard to the council’s ability to expel White, who has yet to face trial “You can be put in a different posture, but you’re not expelled.”
Cooke, a longtime attorney, has experience that includes representing D.C. Mayor Marion S. Barry. As he alluded to during the public hearing, Cooke also served as the District’s clean energy counsel, during which he facilitated the 1987 arrest of D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), then an activist protesting the development of a public park.
During the special public hearing, Cooke denied the “charges and specifications” the council’s ad-hoc committee levied against White. Later, in his statement, he noted that the committee, formed in the aftermath of White’s arrest last summer, introduced the resolution to expel him during a hearing conducted toward the end of Council Period 25. He went on to argue that, though the council will vote on that resolution during an upcoming legislative meeting, it shouldn’t be able to do so due organizational rule changes made at the start of a new council period.
“The council doesn’t have this resolution from the previous council period properly reported, and it needs to be reported in a procedurally substantive manner,” Cooke said, while also noting that, from his vantage point, the council “usurped” a process that BEGA is currently navigating independent of the council. “The council’s… process .. is inconsistent with previous council action and no good … because BEGA is conducting an investigation. It can have a fact-finding record reviewed by the council, but it doesn’t make sense making the council the fact-finding and reviewing agent.”
The Council Stands Behind Its Process
BEGA didn’t immediately respond to The Informer’s request for confirmation of an investigation into White’s alleged ethics violation.
On Feb. 4, the council will vote on White’s expulsion. Based on council rules, White isn’t allowed to participate. As such, approval of the resolution requires 11 out of 12 votes.
During the Jan. 28 public hearing, only Mendelson and D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At large) spoke. Those joining them on the dais included: D.C. Councilmembers Christina Henderson (I-At large), Anita Bonds (D- At large), Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), Janeese Lewis George (Ward 4), Robert White (D-At large), Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), and Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3), along with Wendell Felder (D- Ward 7).
The Informer unsuccessfully attempted to gather comment from Felder, who, in a week, would be weighing in for the first time on White’s expulsion as an elected official.
In December, Lathams & Watkins, LLP, a law firm the council commissioned to conduct the independent investigation, released a report substantiating White’s violation of the Home Rule Act and council rules of conduct, as it relates to his alleged acceptance of $35,000 and future payments in exchange of him securing violence interruption grants for local nonprofit Life Deeds.
Latham & Watkins didn’t find White, who FBI agents arrested outside of a Ward 6 condominium, in violation of residency requirements for elected officials.
However, as ad-hoc committee chair McDuffie noted, much to Cooke’s chagrin, White previously declined three opportunities to speak to Latham & Watkins. The law firm gathered interviews with former and current council staff and violence interruption personnel. They also scoured public records and surveillance footage.
With that evidence, they pieced together a timeline during which, in between allegedly accepting cash payments, White met with officials in the Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.
The process, McDuffie noted, stayed within the bounds of the council’s powers.
“Relevant to this proceeding, you are wrong,” McDuffie told Cooke. “The Home Rule Charter gives the authority for the council to create procedures for expulsion and … we have done so through the rules we’ve adopted.”
After his arrest, White lost his stewardship of the council’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs. He later won his re-election bid in November, beating a slew of write-in candidates and an increasingly perennial Republican contender. However, as reported in a previous Informer story, White struggled to find a judge who would agree to administer the oath of office at his swearing-in ceremony.
Moments after taking that oath of office for the third time, White issued a public apology, not specifying the reason, but evoking the name of Barry, who endured an ethics investigation similar to White’s during his tenure on the council.
McDuffie, who chaired that ad-hoc committee in 2013, said that it’s incumbent upon the council to boost the public’s confidence in their elected representation.
“We not only as a collective must ensure that all who serve uphold the public trust, but when that trust is broken, we can’t leave action to another body,” McDuffie said on the dais at the start of the hearing on Jan. 28. “This investigation was thorough, independent and respectful of Councilmember White’s due process. The standard the council [uses] is not the same for a criminal proceeding. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is not the metric.”
Cooke’s Legal Arguments Resonate With at Least One Person
Not all who converged on the council chambers agreed with McDuffie.
Across the street from the John A. Wilson Building was a black truck with a large image of White and, right under, “The FBI Set Me Up” in large letters. During the public hearing, more than dozen people — including violence interruption veteran Al-Malik Farrakhan, D.C. Democratic Party Committeewoman Regina Pixley and Nee Nee Taylor of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams — showed up in support of White.
The beleaguered council member later entered the chambers, sporting dress clothes covered by a black shirt with the words “The FBI Killed Fred Hampton” emblazoned across it. As White and Cooke sat across the council, and the latter laid out his legal argument against expulsion, Ward 6 resident Aquarius Vann positioned herself within earshot of the council member.
Later, while speaking with The Informer, she commended Cooke for focusing on the law.
“That’s how you do it,” said Vann, a Potomac Gardens resident, as she commended Cooke. “What is the law in this situation? D.C. is not even a state. If so, it would be a totally different game. We saw that envelope. Did the FBI go at Councilmember White right? What was in the envelope? None of us saw that.”
When White goes to trial in early 2026, he will have public defenders, not Cooke, representing him. During a pre-trial hearing earlier this year, when Cooke still served as White’s attorney, a judge revealed that White declined a plea deal. Though he, and others, have declared his innocence, some officials, like D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), said time’s of the essence in rectifying a situation that jeopardizes the political ecosystem.
“The public has to have trust in [the] government. They have to trust in those who are elected. Being asked to wait possibly two years is more than [what’s] in the public interests,” Mendelson said on the dais. “We tried to be very mindful of due process. The issue that underlies this proceeding came to light on Aug. 18 by memo. I notified all the councilmembers, including Councilmember White, that I was setting up an ad-hoc committee.”
I am humbled and thankful that Sam P.K. Collins reporting on this matter that is none Reflective of the Voices of Ward 8 resident by Proof of the Election results . In Respects of the VOICE OF THE PEOPLE THE CITY COUNCIL HAS CHOSEN TO DISGARD THE GREAT WEIGHT OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS CONSTITUENTS WHO CLEARLY KNOW HE HAVE REPRESENTED WARD 8 STILL VOTED HIM BACK IN FOR ANOTHER TERM. INSTEAD OF HAVING A TRANSPARENT PROCESS THAT RESIDENT CAN SEE THAT THE COUNCIL IS REPRESENTING THE BEST INTRUST OF WHOM??????? LET US REMEMBER THE JACK EVANS SCANDEL THAT JUST DISAPPEARED FROM THE PUBLIC NEEDING TO KNOW,THIS UPSIDE DOWN POLITICAL CLIMATE HERE WE GO AGAIN I WILL SAY A WARD 8 HEARING WOULD BE MOST INTERESTING JUST SAYING THINK BETTER TOGETHER!!!!!!!!
“beating … an increasingly perennial Republican contender”. It’d be more helpful to describe me as “an constant and acceptable alternative who didn’t get arrested for bribery”.