Examiner Staff Writer
D.C. Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. stepped down from his role as chairman of a powerful committee on Wednesday, just two days after he was accused of funneling to his wallet city dollars meant for kids.
“Today, Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. submitted to me a letter requesting to step down from his position as chair of the Committee of Economic Development,” council Chairman Kwame Brown said in a statement released Wednesday evening. “I have accepted his request.”
The committee, which oversees billions of dollars in city development projects, will be absorbed into the committee of the whole. Every council member sits on the committee of the whole and the council chairman presides over it.
Thomas could not immediately be reached for comment.
D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan filed a $1 million lawsuit against Thomas on Monday. The suit alleges that Thomas siphoned a $400,000 earmark designated for youth baseball to a nonprofit group run by his golfing buddies. Thomas’ friends then passed the bulk of the cash on to Thomas, who spent about $60,000 of it on an Audi sport utility vehicle and also took golfing trips to Las Vegas and Pebble Beach, the suit says.
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have also said they’re investigating the case.
Thomas had previously said he would not step down because he believed to do so would be an admission of guilt. That tune began to change Tuesday when Brown called a closed-door council meeting to discuss the issue. Following the meeting, council members told The Washington Examiner that a majority of members pushed Thomas to step down as chairman of the economic development committee. If Thomas hadn’t stepped down it seemed likely that the council would have taken a vote at next Tuesday’s legislative meeting to strip him of the job.
Brown said the economic development committee will remain inside the committee of the whole until after the council’s summer recess.
“I will make further suggested changes at that time,” he said.
