Archives: DC Council

  • Thompson associate charged in campaign finance probe

    Alan Blinder

    Updated: 17 hr ago

    A business associate of Jeffrey Thompson, the city contractor and political donor who is the subject of a sprawling corruption investigation, has been charged with breaking federal campaign finance laws. In a court filing released Thursday, federal prosecutors charged Lee Calhoun, who worked...

  • Michael Brown pleads guilty to taking $55,000 in bribes while on D.C. Council

    Alan Blinder

    Updated: Mon, Jun 10, 2013

    Former D.C. Councilman Michael Brown, once among the most influential figures in District politics and a man many believed possessed the raw political talent to ascend to the mayoralty, pleaded guilty on Monday to accepting $55,000 in bribes during an FBI sting operation. "How do you wish to...

  • Michael Brown charge throws D.C. Council off stride

    Alan Blinder

    Published: Sun, Jun 9, 2013

    The D.C. Council believed it had found its groove again. Publicly and privately, legislators said the Wilson Building, once rife with speculation about looming indictments and the threat of raids, appeared to have relaxed after going a year without a lawmaker facing criminal charges. "The...

  • Former Councilman Michael Brown charged with bribery

    Alan Blinder

    Updated: Fri, Jun 7, 2013

    Federal prosecutors on Friday charged former D.C. Councilman Michael Brown with one count of bribery, ending months of silence about long-running probes of corruption in District politics and triggering speculation about where the investigations will ultimately lead. U.S. Attorney Ronald...

  • Mayor, council differ on D.C. driver's licenses for illegal immigrants

    Eric P. Newcomer

    Updated: Thu, Jun 6, 2013

    Drivers with valid D.C. licenses could one day find themselves turned away at the airport ticket counter or security lines while the city's Department of Motor Vehicles simultaneously faces a bureaucratic nightmare, if proposals floated by D.C. Council members become law. At least that's what...

  • One year after Kwame Brown's chaos, D.C. Council says it has moved on

    Alan Blinder

    Updated: Wed, Jun 5, 2013

    When District lawmakers arrived for work on a steamy Wednesday last year, the John A. Wilson Building's rumor mill was churning with persistent speculation that June 6, 2012, would be Kwame Brown's final day as D.C. Council chairman. Now, a year removed from Brown's abrupt resignation after...

  • Minimal budget battling earns high marks for Phil Mendelson

    Eric P. Newcomer

    Updated: Fri, May 24, 2013

    The D.C. Council's swift and unanimous approval of Chairman Phil Mendelson's first budget cemented the chairman's reputation as a low-drama, detail-oriented leader. Adding millions to housing, homeless causes and the arts, among other changes, Mendelson and his staff shifted some spending from...

  • Chairman Phil Mendelson cuts councilman's plan to fund favored arts organizations

    Eric P. Newcomer

    Published: Sat, May 25, 2013

    D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson quietly killed a plan by Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans meant to direct arts grant money to specific organizations, the majority of which are in his ward. In his budget, Mendelson removed a proposal by Evans that set aside several million dollars with...

  • D.C. Council to hold hearing on public financing

    Alan Blinder

    Published: Mon, May 20, 2013

    A D.C. Council committee will hear testimony in July about whether the District should adopt a public financing system for its local campaigns. Ward 5 Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, the chairman of the D.C. Council Committee on Government Operations, said on Monday that his panel will stage a...