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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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PAUL closes in Western Market
By Ella Mitchell, Staff Writer • April 22, 2024

Federal prosecutors end investigation of Gray

Vincent Gray, mayor
The U.S. Attorney’s Office ended the investigation into a shadow campaign that helped fund Former Mayor Vincent Gray’s 2010 mayoral campaign. Hatchet File Photo.

Former Mayor Vincent Gray is in the clear.

A federal prosecutor for D.C. said the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not file any other charges for an illegal campaign fund of more than $600,000 that propped up Gray’s 2010 mayoral bid, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Gray, who is an alumnus, had been under investigation for several years, and the investigation marred his reelection bid.

Gray has always denied knowledge of the fund. In a statement released on Wednesday, he said he looks forward to moving on to the next chapter in his life, which will be “dedicated to service.”

“Here in the District and around the country, many people have had their faith in our justice system tested,” he said. “Justice delayed is justice denied, but I cannot change history.”

Several of Gray’s advisers were taken to court over the investigation, and eight were prosecuted. Several other politicians, including At-Large Council member Vincent Orange were tied to the Jeffrey Thompson, the businessman who created the fund. Thompson pled guilty in 2014.

U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips, whose office led the investigation, said in a release on Wednesday that there was not sufficient evidence to continue the investigation.

“Based on a thorough review of the available evidence and applicable law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has concluded that the admissible evidence is likely insufficient to obtain and sustain a criminal conviction against any other individuals related to the federal and local political campaigns,” the office said in a statement to The Washington Post.

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