COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ‘THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING 1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004 David Grosso Committee Member Councilmember At-Large Government Operations Chairperson, Committee on Education Health Human Services Labor and Workforce Development Statement for the Record from Councilmember David Grosso, Member of the Ad Hoc Committee in the Matter of Councilmember Jack Evans December 6, 2029 ‘The matter of Councilmember Jack Evans has captured the attention of the public, the media, and this government for nearly two years now. Itis a lamentable position to be in. Media reports, an outside investigation, and now our own investigation have all reached the same conclusion: Councilmember Evans has used his position, entrusted to him by the residents of Ward 2, to benefit himself financially, ‘The Council of the District of Columbia engaged the law firm O'Melveny & Myers to investigate Councilmember Evans. The O'Melveny & Myers report found numerous egregious violations of the Council Code of Conduct, including Rule I, which governs conflicts of interest; Rule Il, which governs outside activities; Rule Ill, which prohibits gifts from outside sources; Rule VI, which governs the use of government resources; and Rule XI, which governs financial disclosure. Councilmember Evans’ violation of Rule XI is also a violation of D.C. Law under §1-1162.24 and 2-1262.25. We must now take a course of action that is not easy but is necessary to hold our colleague accountable in order to protect the integrity of our decisions and repair the public’s trust in our institution. The most serious punishment for the most egregious violations of our rules is expulsion from this body. For those with concerns about Ward 2 not having a representative on the Council temporarily, I highlight that there are five At-Large members who represent Ward 2 every day on the Council of the District of Columbia, and we will continue to work on your behalf. This is an unfortunate situation of our own making-it simply has taken the Council far too long to reach this point. The Council failed to take the allegations against our colleague and the concems of fellow members seriously from the first report by DistrictDig in February 2028 about Councilmember Evans’ conflicted relationship with Donald MacCord and his companieswith business before the District of Columbia. Shortly thereafter | spoke privately with Chairman Mendelson and urged him to consider appointing an ad hoc committee. Later, when the Washington Post reported he had accepted stock from the company, my call for an ad hoc committee went unheeded. Instead, we abdicated our responsibility to conduct an investigation into one of our own to outside entities, including the media, BEGA, and WMATA. Over the next seven months, a cycle repeated itself. A news story alleging some new wrongdoing. Questions from our constituents and the media about what we thought and what we planned on doing. Lies, denials, and obfuscation by Councilmember Evans to delay the process. Consideration of another incremental punishment that would only look inconsequential and ill-considered as soon as the cycle started again Our failure to take ownership of this situation from the outset has damaged the Council's reputation, compounding the damage done to it already by Councilmember Evans' transgressions, Further, it distracted from the important work we and our staff do here every day on behalf of the people of the District of Columbia. Had we appointed an ad hoc committee to investigate fully, | believe we would have reached this conclusion much sooner. | believe we would also have a fuller picture of just how far back our colleague's corruption reaches. | would like to applaud Councilmember Cheh for her leadership of the ad hoc committee. She was by every measure the right Councilmember to lead this effort. | appreciate the time, dedication, and thoroughness of her and her staff on this issue. Going forward, Councilmember Evans will again be afforded a final opportunity to present a defense. The first time we gave him this opportunity it was not under oath. The second time, he declined because he would be under oath. Our experience over the past two years tells us we can no longer trust anything that Councilmember Evans has told us since this ordeal began. Unless placed under oath, nothing Councilmember Evans says could sway my decision to recommend expulsion to the full Council ook forward to finality on this matter so that the Council can get back to working on behalf of the residents of the District of Columbia on issues impacting their daily lives.