Jurors in Washington got their first look at secretly recorded meetings at the center of the federal bribery case against D.C. Councilmember Trayon White, but an unexpected revelation about the government’s informant quickly became one of the biggest developments of the trial.
The Trayon White trial centers on one federal bribery charge tied to allegations that White accepted cash in exchange for using his position on the D.C. Council to help a government contractor secure extensions for lucrative city contracts. White has pleaded not guilty.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, prosecutors originally accused White of agreeing to receive $156,000 in payments, calculated as three percent of approximately $5.2 million in contracts connected to violence intervention services. Federal authorities allege White was expected to use his government position to pressure employees at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services to help keep the contracts in place.
The Justice Department said White received $35,000 in cash over four meetings between June and August 2024. According to a federal court opinion outlining the case, prosecutors allege those payments were part of one continuing bribery arrangement. The government says White did not know the contractor giving him the money was cooperating with the FBI and recording their conversations.
During opening testimony in the Trayon White trial, jurors watched video from several meetings between White and D.C. businessman Allieu Kamara. According to NBC Washington, some of the footage showed White accepting cash while he and Kamara discussed government contracts.
White’s defense is challenging the government’s interpretation of those exchanges. NBC Washington reported that his attorneys argued prosecutors cannot prove the money was actually a bribe, raising the possibility that Kamara owed White money because of previous dealings between the men.
According to The Washington Post’s courtroom reporting, defense attorney Gary Kohlman told jurors, “There was no crime. … Notwithstanding efforts to induce a crime.” The defense has characterized White’s conversations about Kamara’s contracts as constituent work rather than evidence that White agreed to sell official influence.
That dispute over intent is crucial to the Trayon White trial. According to the May 2026 federal court ruling, prosecutors must prove White accepted the payments in return for being influenced or induced in his official actions. White’s attorneys dispute that interpretation of his intentions.
Then came a revelation that could become central to the defense’s effort to challenge the credibility of the government’s star informant.
According to NBC Washington, testimony revealed that Kamara had been identified in court as White’s brother-in-law. FBI investigator Matthew Gano testified that federal agents did not know about the alleged family relationship when White was arrested in 2024. The Washington Post similarly reported that White’s attorneys questioned Gano about why agents did not know Kamara was related to White while using him as a confidential source.
The relationship itself is now disputed. After the courtroom disclosure, The Washington Post contacted Kamara and asked whether White was his brother-in-law. Kamara responded, “You know it’s not true.” He then said he was not permitted to discuss the matter further and directed questions to his attorney.
Kamara’s history with federal investigators is also expected to face significant scrutiny as the Trayon White trial continues. According to court records reported by The Washington Post, Kamara previously pleaded guilty to fraud and bribery charges involving a different D.C. government employee and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities.
Those records show Kamara admitted to bribing a contract specialist at the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in exchange for assistance obtaining confidential contracting information and steering government business toward his companies. The Post reported that the employee allegedly received at least $233,000 in kickbacks while Kamara’s businesses obtained more than $2 million in related contracts and grants.
Kamara also pleaded guilty in connection with a pandemic relief fraud scheme. According to The Washington Post’s review of his plea documents, Kamara admitted participating in the submission of fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program applications, including applications involving his own companies.
Gano testified that Kamara began cooperating after federal investigators confronted him with evidence of wrongdoing. According to NBC Washington, Kamara then told investigators he had previously bribed White years before the recorded 2024 meetings. The FBI acknowledged during testimony that investigators did not have independent evidence confirming that earlier alleged payment.
That history gives both sides sharply different narratives surrounding the same recordings. Prosecutors say the videos document White accepting cash while discussing official assistance for government contracts. White’s defense is attempting to convince jurors that Kamara was a compromised informant with powerful incentives to produce evidence for federal investigators.
As testimony moves forward, the question facing jurors will go beyond whether White physically accepted the money. The federal case turns on whether prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the cash was accepted as part of a corrupt agreement to exchange government influence for payment.
