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Did a DC Council member violate the stay-at-home order to attend a Georgetown dinner party?

CNN reporter Vicky Ward publishes op-ed alleging high-profile District residents are skirting the rules to gather during the lockdown.

WASHINGTON — High-profile residents of the District of Columbia may be violating the city’s stay-at-home order to gather for dinner and cocktails, if an op-ed by a senior CNN reporter is to be believed.

On Thursday, Vicky Ward published an opinion piece to CNN’s website titled “The naïve – and reckless – rule breakers of Covid-19.” In it, Ward, a bestselling author and senior CNN reporter, claims a “D.C.-based media executive” told her he had secretly attended two different dinner parties in Georgetown.

According to Ward, the executive told her that at one of those parties, also in attendance were “an ambassador, a city councilman and a well-known lobbyist.”

The entire DMV has been under a stay-at-home order since March 30 in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In D.C., violating Mayor Muriel Bowser’s order could be charged as a misdemeanor and result in a fine of up to $5,000 and 90 days’ jail time.

Bowser’s order also stipulates that any officer or employee of the District of Columbia government who violates it could face suspension from duty without pay, or removal from office.

Ward’s article does not name any of the alleged attendees of the dinner parties, so WUSA9 has been reaching out to all 12 current members of the D.C. Council for comment.

Lindsey Walton, director of communications for D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, told WUSA9 Mendelson “did not attend the party referenced in the CNN article.”

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh said she had “never heard of it and was not present.”

Councilmember Charles Allen, who represents Ward 6, said he doesn't "have a clue what they're talking about." 

"I’ve got a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old at home all day, every day while my wife and I both work and teach and parent," Allen said in an email to WUSA9. "I’m not risking anyone else’s health, or extending this stay home order another minute, just to go to some Georgetown dinner party. And I hope that’s true of all of my colleagues."

Councilmember David Grosso's chief of staff Matthew Nocella also said it wasn't his boss: "It was not Councilmember Grosso and he would just stress the importance of following the mayor’s stay-at-home order and practicing responsible social distancing to help flatten the curve."

Councilmember Robert White said: “I did not attend the event. It was a bad idea, but I also do not think shaming is the tool we need most right now. So many of us are missing human interactions during this crisis, and a game of gotcha will end up with all losers.”

As of Friday afternoon, WUSA9 had not received responses from other members of the council.

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