The FBI carried out a raid at the Georgetown home of Washington, D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans on Friday, following the claims that he abused his official post for personal business interests.
Evans is accused of “repeatedly and proactively” using his position as the Principal Director, representing the District of Columbia, on the board of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to favor a company in return for $50,000 per year.
Fox 5 D.C. reported that the FBI confirmed the raid and it was based on a court authorization.
An area surrounding Evans’ home was blocked by D.C. police in the morning, while federal agents reportedly brought boxes from inside the house.
FOX 5 D.C.’s Melanie Alnwick posted photographs on Twitter in the first hours of the raid, showing the intense police activity outside Evans’ home.
#BREAKING Police activity at the #Georgetown home of DC Councilman @JackEvansWard2. MPD blocking street and we see what appears to be #fed agents going in & out of home. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/9l6iU5y5Ez
— Melanie Alnwick (@fox5melanie) June 21, 2019
“I can confirm that there is court-authorized law enforcement activity at Mr. Evans’s house,” Kadia Koroma, a spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., was quoted as saying on the incident.
In the wake of the news reports regarding the FBI raid, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) announced that he was launching an internal investigation into Evans’ ethical violations and planning to strip the politician of his position as the Council’s Finance Committee chair.
On Thursday, Evans had stated he would resign from his post as the city’s representative on the board of WMATA effective June 27. He had already agreed not to run for chairman in relation to his misconduct determined by Metro Board’s Ethics Committee. His resignation letter followed a report by the Washington Post about a confidential 20-page memo allegedly revealing that Evans used his post on the WMATA board to benefit a company.
As many D.C. councilmembers declared their support for Mendelson’s move, some Twitter users criticized the politicians for not directly demanding the resignation of Evans from the Council, where he served for almost 30 years.
I strongly support Chairman Mendelson’s efforts to remove Councilmember Jack Evans as chair of the Committee on Finance and Revenue and to appoint an ad hoc committee to conduct an investigation. These actions, I hope, will begin to repair the damage done to the public trust.
— Robert C. White, Jr. (@RobertWhite_DC) June 21, 2019
Why are all of you dorks being so cagey about calling for his resignation from the council? Honestly, what’s the political drawback at this point?
— Down with the Green Team (@Tim_Pnin) June 21, 2019
Or you could censure him and demand his resignation. That might too. But wrist slaps are nice too.
— John Nowicki (@johnnowicki) June 21, 2019
According to the Washington Post, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who had backed Evans during the scandal, said on Friday “I’m sad about it. It’s disappointing, and let me just say when you’re in public office, you’re called to uphold the public trust… And I recognize that many Washingtonians will look at today’s events and be just as disappointed as I am. But my job at this point is to carry on and govern the city, to run the city and let these investigations play out.”
Bowser has drawn criticism for stopping short of calling on Evans to leave public office.