Overview
- A 14-member jury of 12 jurors and two alternates was sworn after multi-day voir dire and opening statements began on Tuesday.
- Prosecutors say FBI recordings, video of envelope handoffs and text messages will show White accepted $35,000 in 2024 to help a contractor keep or extend city contracts.
- The government plans to call the confidential informant Allieu Kamara and senior D.C. officials to link the payments to official acts.
- White’s defense concedes he took the cash but will argue the money was a gift or the result of entrapment and will challenge the informant’s credibility.
- If convicted White faces up to 15 years in prison and would immediately lose his Ward 8 seat, a result that would trigger another special election and reshape local politics.