Latest news with #BEGA
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Complaint: Nonprofit calls for ethics investigation into DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, staff
WASHINGTON () — A watchdog nonprofit organization filed a complaint on Tuesday, calling for an investigation into D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to determine if she accepted illegal gifts. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed the with the (BEGA) against the mayor and four of her staffers for trips she has taken, alleging the mayor's office has provided false information or not answered questions posed by the public and the press. According to the complaint, Bowser and four staffers traveled to Doha, Qatar, for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. DC Council votes to pause July 1 wage bump under Initiative 82 'Although it must be disclosed in order to be a legal donation to the District, there was no record of who paid for the trip (with the exception of a $3,500 receipt submitted by Mayor Bowser's Chief of Staff for a three-night taxpayer-funded stay at the Atlantis-Palm Hotel in Dubai),' the complaint read. The mayor's office initially said the trip was paid for by the D.C. Chamber of Commerce — which the Chamber said was not true. Then, officials said the trip was paid for by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. That was also false, FACT claimed. In February of this year, FACT says the mayor's office sent a letter to Qatar 'because it was Qatar that had actually paid for the trip.' The letter asked for a breakdown and value of expenses, describing the payments as an 'in-kind donation' and requested a donation agreement for the trip, even though it happened in 2023. DC mayor concerned about parade tanks' impact on streets FACT said it wasn't until a reporter filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in March 2025 that this information was publicly revealed, showing that Qatar paid nearly $62,000 for the trip. 'As of May 2025, the District still does not have a record of Qatar paying for Bowser's 2023 trip,' the complaint continues. In addition to their Qatar excursion, Bowser has taken other trips which have gone unreported — such as to the Masters Golf Tournament, Las Vegas, Miami and Mar-a-Lago, FACT alleged. 'The Mayor's unwillingness to provide basic information about numerous high-profile trips is unacceptable. It is not simply the Qatar trip, but a troubling pattern from Mar-A-Lago to Doha to Augusta National–the District has no record of who paid for these trips or what public purpose they served, if there was one at all,' Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT, said in part. According to , D.C. employees 'may not, directly or indirectly, solicit or accept a gift from a prohibited source; or given because of the employee's official position or duties.' Confusion, concern around Dupont Circle ahead of big WorldPride weekend Gifts are defined by BEGA as any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, loan or any item of monetary value. Such includes services, as well as transportation, local travel, lodging and meals, whether provided by purchase of a ticket, advance payment or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred. The also said that government employees must keep 'accurate and detailed records of the acceptance and use of any gift or donation … and shall make such records available for audit and public inspection.' 'Clearly Mayor Bowser's trip to Qatar qualifies as a gift, and one that elected officials arepersonally prohibited from accepting. Additionally, this gift would not qualify as a donationmade to the District because the donation was not recorded and approved before the donationwas used,' FACT's complaint alleges. 'The District still does not even have a record of it.' 'The ethics rules exist to protect against corruption and when they are ignored, the public's trust erodes. I urge the Board to investigate and enforce the law without delay,' Arnold continued in her statement. DC News Now reached out to the Mayor's Office for comment but did not hear back in time for publication. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
D.C. Council member Trayon White denies wrongdoing ahead of expulsion vote
An attorney for D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) offered the lawmaker's first extended public response to the council's looming expulsion of him Tuesday, arguing during a council proceeding that the legislative body's disciplinary process violated his client's rights. The council, however, appears poised to expel White through a final vote next week. The hearing gave White the opportunity to formally defend himself before the council against allegations that he violated ethics rules by accepting bribes in exchange for promising to influence contracts at D.C. government agencies. White, who had been indicted on a federal bribery charge, chose not to speak and sat next to his attorney, Frederick D. Cooke Jr., who criticized the process and said White denied all allegations of ethics violations. Cooke argued that the council's disciplinary process was improper in part because it did not allow White to appeal the council's decision in a court of law, and noted that White had not yet been convicted of anything. White has pleaded not guilty to the federal charge, and his trial is slated to begin in January 2026. Cooke also said it would have been better for the council to rely on an investigation by D.C.'s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, which allows the employees it investigates to appeal decisions in D.C. Superior Court. Cook said BEGA has launched an investigation into White; a spokesperson for BEGA did not return a call for comment. 'This process is defective,' Cooke said. 'I believe the council needs to go back and get it right.' He also argued that the council violated its own rules by proposing the resolution to expel in 2024, but not reintroducing it this year. Only two council members were permitted to make statements — Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-At Large), who chaired the ad hoc council committee that assessed White's conduct, and Chairman Phil Mendelson (D). Both were unmoved by Cooke's arguments. 'Council member White betrayed the trust of his staff, the council, the agencies and above all the residents of Ward 8,' McDuffie said. 'The public [has to] have trust in the government, they have to have trust in the legislature, they have to have trust in those who are elected,' Mendelson said. The meeting brought the council one step closer to expelling White, an extraordinary move that would mark the first time in the history of D.C. home rule that the body has formally voted to eject one of its own. The last time D.C. lawmakers came close to expelling a member was in 2019, when a council ad hoc committee voted to recommend expelling former Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) for repeated ethics violations. Evans resigned before the matter came to a final vote. White was indicted in September on a federal bribery charge, accused of accepting roughly $35,000 in cash and making arrangements to receive tens of thousands more in kickbacks from an associate. White allegedly accepted the money in exchange for agreeing to pressure government employees into extending the associate's contracts to work on violence intervention and the care of at-risk young people. The associate was working as an FBI informant. After his August arrest, the council established an ad hoc committee comprising all members except White and commissioned the law firm Latham & Watkins to investigate the allegations. The firm found 'substantial evidence' that White violated ethics rules, and the committee subsequently voted in December to recommend White be expelled. At the time, Mendelson called the findings 'quintessential corruption,' and members said they felt they had no choice given the evidence. White, who was reelected in November to a third term, has largely stayed away from making public comments about the federal charge or the council's action, other than to maintain his innocence. He apologized to the city at his swearing-in ceremony earlier this month, but declined to say what he was apologizing for. While White was allowed to make a statement or call witnesses at Tuesday's hearing, he declined to do either, instead relying on his attorney to speak. Cooke said Tuesday that it would be inappropriate to construe White's silence as an admission of guilt, saying it was within his rights. At the hearing, White wore a shirt that read 'THE FBI KILLED FRED HAMPTON,' a reference to the 1969 killing of the Illinois Black Panther Party leader during a police raid. 'This is the same Justice Department that killed Fred Hampton that's trying to come after me,' he said in response to a reporter's question about his shirt. 'Same people.' He declined to answer reporters' other questions after the proceeding and went into his office, flanked by a group of supporters. Meanwhile, a black truck was parked outside the Wilson Building, displaying a large photo of White with the words 'FBI SET ME UP' in large green letters below it. White did not respond to a text message asking who had arranged the truck or if they were responsible for it. Some Ward 8 residents who attended the proceeding felt strongly that the council was ignoring the will of voters. 'Nothing's going to seize my vote, and nothing's going to seize my voice,' Regina Pixley, a longtime ally of White, said after the meeting. Mendelson, however, remains steadfast in his belief that the council is doing the right thing. 'We have to maintain an ethical legislature,' he said in an interview after the hearing. 'The public will not abide by our waiting at least another year for a conviction.' The council is expected to take the expulsion vote at its Feb. 4 meeting, where it would take a vote of 11 members to remove White. Council member Robert C. White Jr. (D-At Large) said he still hoped they would not have to take that final step. 'I wish he would resign,' he said. 'If you broke the council rules and you know you broke the council rules, to put the council through this is something to think about.' If the council ejects Trayon White, Ward 8 could face an empty council seat and a special election to fill it. White declined to answer reporters' questions about whether he had plans to run in that election. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large), called the looming expulsion vote 'weighty,' but said her mind was already further in the future. 'I think some of us are looking to the next chapter, whatever that is — what happens after Feb. 4,' she said.
