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Florida Congressman Faces Eviction
In Rent Dispute with D.C. Landlord
A Florida congressman is facing the possibility of eviction from his Washington, D.C., apartment in a dispute with his landlord over rent payment.
Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican, owes rent from March to July on his luxury apartment in the Wharf neighborhood of Southwest Washington, according to a complaint filed in D.C. Superior Court.
Mills responded with a post on X saying he has been trying to pay his rent on time but kept running into a technical problem with the payment app.
The post included a screenshot of the payment error message he received. It also showed his email requests for an alternate payment link from the landlord and property managers, Parcel 47F LLC and Bozzuto Management Company.
“Error code 108 typically indicates an issue with the Windows Installer Service, often meaning another installation is already running. It can also be related to bank connectivity problems in financial software,” Mills wrote in the post.
He added as a response to media reports, “Facts are a finicky thing but wouldn’t expect you to be anything other than a biased hack!”
The unpaid rent totals just over $85,000, based on a monthly rate of $20,833, according to the landlord’s lawsuit.
The apartment building has an infinity pool overlooking the Tidal Basin, a large fitness center and views of the Capitol and National Capital Mall monuments.
The lawsuit in Superior Court appears to be part of ongoing disputes between Mills and his landlord. Included in the court filing is a property manager’s ledger showing the congressman accrued late payment fines of $14,600 between August 2023 to January 2025. It did not explain how the fines were resolved.
Mills moved to the apartment in June 2023.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Congress Looks at Stopping Threats
From Unauthorized Aerial Drones
Congress is trying to determine a strategy to prevent dangers from aerial drones that is certain to expand civil and criminal liability for their private operators.
Lawmakers at a congressional hearing last week said before they can hold anyone responsible for unauthorized drone flights, they have to figure out who is controlling them.
So far, that has been an elusive goal.
One example mentioned during the hearing of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security occurred during search and rescue operations this month in Kerr County, Texas.
A helicopter crew was trying to identify victims of the July 4 flooding blamed for killing at least 132 local residents while dozens remain missing.
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Latest News
Congress Told that Artificial Intelligence
Is Making Criminals More Sophisticated
Computer industry experts warned Congress last week about a troubling surge in crime committed with artificial intelligence.
Criminals are exploiting the technology for sophisticated cyberattacks that can include fraud, identity theft and extortion using deepfake pornography, they said.
“The future of crime will be defined by AI,” said Ari Redbord, head of policy for San Francisco-based TRM Labs, a company that uses data analytics to help financial institutions and governments fight fraud, money laundering and financial crime.
The cybercrime reporting company Chainabuse reported in recent weeks that crime using artificial intelligence rose 456 percent between May 2024 and May 2025.
The question being addressed during the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance hearing was how the government can catch up with the increasing dangers of cybercrime.
Power the Civil Rights Work of Our Time
Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
Our work is as important today as it has ever been. Through your support, you can play a role in creating justice for thousands of marginalized members of our community. Together, we will dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change.
Join us! Donate & subscribe: https://www.washlaw.org/support-us
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For more information, contact Gregg Kelley at Gregg_Kelley@washlaw.org
About Us
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Letters to the Editor
D.C. in Brief
Reelected Council Member Creates Dilemma
After Being Expelled on Bribery Accusations
A disgraced local lawmaker who was expelled from the D.C. Council has set up an election law challenge by getting reelected last week.
Council members voted unanimously in February to kick Trayon White off the D.C. Council after he was recorded taking bribes from a city contractor. He was arrested by the FBI in August.
The Ward 8 council seat has been vacant since his expulsion. White defeated three challengers to reclaim it.
He was allowed to run under local election law rules because he has not been convicted of a felony. His trial is scheduled to begin next January.
Now the D.C. Council is trying to decide whether to expel White again or allow him to continue as a council member until his trial determines whether he is a convicted felon. A felony conviction disqualifies political candidates from the Council.
In victory speech after being reelected, White said, “So we sent a message loud and clear to D.C. City Council that Trayon White is here to stay.”
The evidence against him includes video that shows White taking envelopes filled with cash from a city contractor after agreeing to help him win city contracts. The contractor was working as an FBI informant as part of a plea bargain on fraud and bribery charges.
Prosecutors said White agreed to accept $156,000 in kickbacks in exchange for using his influence to extend two companies’ contracts worth more than $5 million.
In one meeting with the informant in which White allegedly accepted $5,000 in cash, the council member can be heard in an audio recording saying, “Once you and I lock eyes and gets to an understanding, I gets to work. I can start making some (expletive) happen.”
Appeals Court Allows Defense Dept.
To Override Sept. 11 Conspirators’ Deal
A ruling by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., this month allows the federal government to set aside a plea bargain that would spare conspirators in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the United States from the death penalty.
The plea bargain was reached in August with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others who prosecutors describe as leaders of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Mohammed was the alleged mastermind of the plot.
They agreed to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences.
Two days after prosecutors announced the plea bargain, then Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin invoked his authority over national security to withdraw it.
Austin’s attempt to override prosecutors set off the appeals that led to the decision Friday.
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Legal Briefs
We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
You could make a difference. By making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, you will provide free, high-quality, zealous legal representation to low-income DC residents.
Your support could prevent homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, or family separation. In fact, if just 10 people who see this ad give $28 to Legal Aid, it will be enough to staff an experienced attorney at the courthouse for a day.
That way, DC residents like Keith King (pictured above) can get the legal representation they need to win their cases. As Mr. King put it, if it wasn’t for his Legal Aid lawyer, “I would have been homeless again.”
Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org