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Gone quiet · last update Sep 28, 2026 / Washington, D.C.

The bribery case against DC Council member Trayon White

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

Trayon White, a Washington, D.C., Council member representing Ward 8, was arrested in August 2024 in an FBI sting and charged with accepting bribes to steer government contracts to two companies.[1][2] The council expelled him, but he won back his seat in a July 2025 special election.[3][2] His federal trial ended in a in September 2026 after the jury deadlocked, split 9-3 in favor of acquittal.[4][5]

Read the timeline

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The council expelled him, but he won back his seat in a July 2025 special election.[3][2] His federal trial ended in a in September 2026 after the jury deadlocked, split 9-3 in favor of acquittal.[4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · monthly average of weekly shares (UTC)

Aug 2024: average weekly share 4% (left 1%, center 2%, right 1%), from 2 of 2 weeksSep 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksOct 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksNov 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksDec 2024: average weekly share under 1% (left 0%, center under 1%, right under 1%), from 5 of 5 weeksJan 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksFeb 2025: average weekly share 1% (left under 1%, center under 1%, right under 1%), from 4 of 4 weeksMar 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksApr 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksMay 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksJun 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksJul 2025: average weekly share 1% (left under 1%, center 1%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksAug 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksSep 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksOct 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksNov 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksDec 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksJan 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksFeb 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksMar 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksApr 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksMay 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksJun 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksJul 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksAug 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksSep 2026: average weekly share 2% (left 1%, center 1%, right under 1%), from 4 of 4 weeksOct 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksNov 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 2 of 2 weeks, so far

LeftCenterRight

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. Over more than two years each bar is a month: the average of that month's weekly shares, so the shape stays readable. The weekly table below keeps every week. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 1 more outlet off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (7 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Sep 28, 202646515 of 4763%
Sep 21, 20262417 of 4791%
Sep 14, 202646111 of 4802%
Jul 14, 20251405 of 1843%
Feb 3, 20251214 of 1902%
Dec 9, 20240314 of 2082%
Aug 19, 202449518 of 2099%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Sep 28, 2026 · first reported · Headline from FOX 5 DC

    Jury split 9-3 in favor of acquittal in DC Councilman Trayon White's bribery trial, he says

Background

Prosecutors said White accepted envelopes of cash in exchange for using his position to keep contracts flowing to the companies.[1] An independent report found "substantial evidence" that he had violated council rules,[6] and the council voted in February 2025 on his expulsion.[3] In July Ward 8 voters returned him to his seat.[2]

At trial in September 2026, opening statements asked jurors to decide whether he had taken bribes.[7] Both sides rested, and the defense pressed a motion to dismiss.[8][9] The judge ordered the deadlocked jury to keep deliberating over the defense's request for a mistrial,[10] then declared a mistrial on September 28.[4]

Supporting stories (10)
  1. DC Councilmember Trayon White Arrested On Suspicion Of Accepting $156,000 In Bribes
  2. Trayon White expected to regain Ward 8 seat following special election
  3. Trayon White expelled from the DC Council for corruption but he’s free to run for his old seat
  4. Judge declares mistrial in DC Council member Trayon White’s bribery case
  5. Jury split 9-3 in favor of acquittal in DC Councilman Trayon White's bribery trial, he says
  6. There’s ‘substantial evidence’ DC Councilmember Trayon White violated council rules, report finds
  7. D.C. Council Member Trayon White bribery trial begins
  8. Prosecution and defense rest in federal bribery trial for DC Councilman Trayon White
  9. No verdict in DC Councilman Trayon White’s bribery trial as jury deliberations head into third day
  10. Jury deadlocked on Trayon White case, judge says to continue deliberating

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 10 recorded updates

September 2026

  1. Jury split 9-3 in favor of acquittal in DC Councilman Trayon White's bribery trial, he saysHeadline from FOX 5 DC · 5 outlets
  2. Judge declares mistrial in DC Council member Trayon White’s bribery caseHeadline from MyNorthwest · 15 outlets
  3. Jury deadlocked on Trayon White case, judge says to continue deliberatingHeadline from DC News Now · 2 outlets
  4. No verdict in DC Councilman Trayon White’s bribery trial as jury deliberations head into third dayHeadline from FOX 5 DC · 6 outlets
  5. Prosecution and defense rest in federal bribery trial for DC Councilman Trayon WhiteHeadline from FOX 5 DC · 2 outlets
  6. D.C. Council Member Trayon White bribery trial beginsHeadline from UPI · 11 outlets

July 2025

  1. Trayon White expected to regain Ward 8 seat following special electionHeadline from FOX 5 DC · 5 outlets

February 2025

  1. Trayon White expelled from the DC Council for corruption but he’s free to run for his old seatHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 4 outlets

December 2024

  1. There’s ‘substantial evidence’ DC Councilmember Trayon White violated council rules, report findsHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 4 outlets

August 2024

  1. DC Councilmember Trayon White Arrested On Suspicion Of Accepting $156,000 In BribesHeadline from Black Enterprise · 19 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →