The D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to expel Councilmember Trayon White, who faces a federal trial on charges of taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence city contract decisions. Although it played no role in his ousting, White has made multiple inflammatory statements and floated conspiracies about Jews, including one in which he claimed they control the weather.  White, 40, was arrested by the FBI last August. His federal trial won’t start until January 2026, but preliminary evidence shows White pocketing cash-stuffed envelopes from a city contractor-turned-informer. Tuesday’s hearing on the matter was relatively quick. An internal council inquiry had already recommended expulsion. Votes from 11 of the 12 remaining council members were required for expulsion, but the vote was unanimous. “Bribery of elected officials is quintessential corruption,” Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said before the vote. “Trust is precious. Trust is critical for an elected government, and we must act.” It’s first time in modern D.C. history that the council has expelled a member. Most recently, in 2019, former Councilmember Jack Evans — facing multiple charges of ethics violations — resigned ahead of an expulsion vote. White came up in local politics as a protege of iconic and infamous former Mayor Marion Barry. And White has been channeling his mentor’s defiant, populist playbook since his arrest. He refused to cooperate with the internal council inquiry. His lawyer, Frederick D. Cooke Jr., also served as Barry’s defense attorney. And White has sought to stoke lingering suspicion of the FBI among Black Washingtonians, many of whom believe Barry was unfairly targeted by the 1990 FBI sting that caught him on camera smoking crack cocaine. During Tuesday’s council hearing, White sat silently in the audience surrounded by supporters. Meanwhile, a panel truck sat parked outside the D.C. government building with an electronic display showing a picture of White and the message “FBI set me up.” Another image in the shifting display showed a picture of Mendelson underneath the word “Racist.” Last week, White showed up at a council hearing on his case wearing a T-shirt that declared “THE FBI KILLED FRED HAMPTON” — a reference to the Illinois Black Panther Party leader who was killed during a police raid in 1969. Even before his legal troubles, White was closely associated with the Barry legacy, frequently appearing at his side later in his life. White represents Ward 8 — D.C.’s poorest and Blackest district — in the seat Barry held for years. In 2018, when a statue of Barry was erected outside the D.C. government building, White went on local radio to defend Barry’s legacy against critics. As a councilmember, White channeled Barry’s street-level style — building loyalty by personally appearing throughout his ward, especially at crime scenes, at all hours of the day. “He was trained by Barry, and Barry would do that. He would show up for everything from a birthday or a barbecue to a shooting scene,” said Robinson Woodward-Burns, a political science professor at Washington’s Howard University. And in true Barry style, the arrest and strength of evidence did little to dent his popularity; less than three months later he was reelected to a third term in November with limited opposition. Arrest and public scandal may not be the end of White’s political career, much like that […]  | Read More The Yeshiva World