Charging documents filed today by Ron Machen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, state that Michael A. Brown accepted $55,000 from undercover federal agents during and after his term as a member of the D.C. Council. Brown told his political supporters last night that he intends to plead guilty.
The charges allege that, Brown, an at-large member of the Council between January 2009 and Jan. 2, “directly and indirectly, corruptly demanded, sought, received, accepted, and agreed to receive” $55,000 in cash from individuals identified as representatives of “Company M.”
Those representatives were actually employees of the FBI posing as businesspeople applying for the District’s “certified business enterprise” status, a program that gives preferential treatment to small, local, woman-, and minority-owned companies that bid on city government contractors. The charges state that Brown took the cash offers in exchange for his assistance in helping the supposed businesspeople secure CBE status.
The agents’ interacted with Brown over a period spanning from July 11, 2012 to March 14.
“The news of Michael Brown’s plea deal is both disturbing and unfortunate,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson says in a statement released by his office. “Even though elected officials are no better than ordinary people, citizens have a right to hold us to the highest standards. The present news is a reminder that our government has not lived up to those expectations. Once again the Council, which has striven for a year to regain stability, is damaged by the specter of continuing corruption. It is my hope that those of us who have been elected to serve will see the news of Mr. Brown’s plea as stimulus to redouble our efforts to improve ethics and regain the public’s trust.”
Federal prosecutors are seeking a forfeiture from Brown of $35,000. Brown is being represented by Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
