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DC Council Strips Jack Evans of Finance Committee Chairmanship

The D.C. Council voted to strip embattled Council member Jack Evans of his chairmanship of the Committee on Finance and Revenue.

The council also agreed to hire a law firm to investigate Evans, the longest-serving member of the council, who has faced investigations and allegations for months over whether he used his office for personal gain. But the council deadlocked on whether to take away his other committee assignments.

The investigation is expected to cost $100,000-$200,000.

Council member David Grosso, who Monday called for Evans to resign, voted no to stripping him of the chairmanship, but that was after sparring with Council Chairman Phil Mendelson over due process.

“Jack should step down now,” Grosso said. “He has created such a distraction up here. You saw even in our informal breakfast this morning, we spent, what, two hours discussing what to do. We could save money not having to hire a law firm and we could move forward and really regain the trust of the public.”

“But there ought to be an investigation. That is what we are launching,” Mendelson said. “As I said a week ago, we are — as a safeguard, and yes you could read it as an admonishment — removing him as chair of Finance Committee.”

A previous investigation found Evans, who served as chairman of the Metro Board, violated Metro ethics. He stepped down from his post on the board when that chairmanship expired, acknowledging that he didn't disclose a profitable conflict of interest. 

Evans' home was raided by the FBI last month. A federal grand jury is investigating his private consulting business.

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