Federal agents searched Ward 2 D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans’ home Friday, less than a week after Evans admitted to using his Metro chairmanship for personal financial gain and later announced his resignation from the Metro board.
Evans sat in his car while FBI agents searched his home at about 9:15 a.m., The Washington Post reported Friday. Authorities left his home at about 9:20 a.m. and loaded boxes into their cars, according to The Post.
Evans is the subject of a federal investigation into using his government seat to benefit his personally owned consulting firm, NSE Consulting, which he runs out of his home address in Georgetown. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority also launched an investigation into Evans’ business dealing, finding that he violated ethics codes related to conflicts of interest.
Following WMATA’s report, Council chairman Phil Mendelson is also seeking to remove Evans from his position as chair of the committee on revenue and finance. Evans fell under review by the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability last year for potentially violating the Council’s code of conduct.
Ten councilmembers have sided with Mendelson’s decision to appoint an ad hoc committee to investigate Evans, exceeding the minimum five votes required to form the committee. Councilmembers claimed that the recent developments in Evans’ investigation have led them to lose trust in Evans.
“It is imperative that public officials maintain high ethical standards,” Mendelson said in the statement. “Public trust is critical. At the same time, it is delicate and precious. We must now work to regain it.”
Ward 3 councilmember Mary Cheh told the Washington Post that Evans’ behavior is “straight-up corruption” and that he violated her trust.
“You sit next to somebody, they tell you things, you believe what they’re telling you, and then you find out it’s not so. It’s very, very demoralizing,” Cheh told The Post. “I’ve known Jack for a long time. I’m real sad about this whole thing.”
Evans is up for reelection to his Ward 2 council seat in 2020 and is running against four other candidates, including Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Patrick Kennedy. He has served on the Council since 1992 and has not faced a challenger since 2008.
Evans did not return a request to comment.
