Washington, D.C
Conflicting reports about DOJ investigating Mayor Bowser’s foreign trip
The New York Times reported Thursday evening that the Department of Justice is investigating D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser over a foreign trip she took that was at least partially paid for by Qatar, but a report from Axios later disputed the New York Times report.
Axios first reported a senior Trump administration official says Bowser’s “name was mentioned in something,” but that she is not under federal investigation. Axios says the unnamed official blamed the rumor of the investigation on a disgruntled fired FBI agent.
A Trump administration official later told News4 Investigative Reporter Ted Oberg that Bowser is not the target of a federal investigation.
The mayor’s office said Bowser did not have anything to say about the Times report Thursday night but will be taking questions Friday at an event already on her calendar.
Bowser went to Dubai in late 2023 with four executive staff members for a United Nations conference on climate change, the Times reported.
The investigation started after the mayor’s office incorrectly told reporters the Chamber of Conference paid for the trip.
Her office told News4 that after the trip they became aware of a “staff error,” which led to the lack of a standard donation agreement for travel expenses. That paperwork has since been correctly submitted, Bowser’s office said. They said they have a letter from Qatar confirming they paid tens of thousands of dollars for the trip for Bowser and her staffers.
It’s not unusual for outside organizations or governments to pay for such trips, but it appears the mayor’s office didn’t handle the reporting properly in the beginning.
D.C. Code requires city officials to file proper reporting paperwork for gifts and donations such as a trip.
The mayor’s office said they heard about an investigation when the Times called Thursday afternoon for comment.
“We have checked with our lawyers, and the District has not been notified of any investigation,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “This was a business trip; DC representatives regularly travel to promote Washington as a destination for investment and growth.”
“In some cases, economic development funds are used for the business travel; in other cases, the host or organizer cover the expenses,” the statement said. “All proper paperwork for this standard donation is on file.”
Bowser previously has been asked about who paid for a trip to the Masters golf tournament – questions that have never fully been answered.
The investigation comes after the federal takeover of D.C. — and looming threat of another one — and as Bowser considers running for a fourth term.
Bowser was scheduled to attend a gala Thursday night where she was to receive an award for her work in the redevelopment of the RFK Stadium site.
Jaemi Theatre Company, a new AAPI-led theater company based in Washington, DC, officially launches this spring with its inaugural project, BAAL, a staged reading at the 2026 Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival on Friday, March 6, at 7:30 PM at the Atlas Performing Arts Center.
Founded by Artistic Director Youri Kim and Artistic Associate Juyoung Koh, Jaemi Theatre was born out of a recognition that DC, one of the largest theater markets in the United States, had no company dedicated to centering Asian stories or led by Asian artists. The name “Jaemi” comes from a Korean word meaning “fun,” and in its Sino-Korean form, 在美, means both “to live in America” and “to live in beauty.”
“I kept hearing from companies that it was hard to find Asian actors, and I heard it so often that I started to believe it myself,” said Youri Kim. “But through building community with other AAPI theater artists in the area, I realized the talent was always here. What was missing was the infrastructure to connect us. Jaemi is that infrastructure.”
BAAL, an original work written by Youri Kim (not to be confused with Bertolt Brecht’s 1918 play of the same name), is a body horror drama set in a dystopian city where the air is toxic and birth is outlawed. In the city of Baal, citizens are forced into an impossible choice: terminate or sacrifice a family member. The play uses the language of biological mutation and bodily control to examine how systems of power decide who gets to exist and on what terms, questions that resonate deeply within AAPI and immigrant communities navigating structures that seek to define, contain, and assimilate them. The staged reading features a cast of seven and an original sound design.
BAAL plays as a staged reading Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Lab Theatre II at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St NE, Washington, DC). Tickets ($29.75) are available online.
Looking ahead, Jaemi Theatre plans to host a founding party and fundraiser this fall, and will launch an Asian Writer Play Submission program in the second half of 2026. The program will pair playwrights from selected Asian countries with Asian playwrights based in DC for a workshop development process, building a pipeline that connects diasporic voices across borders.
For more information, visit yourikimdirector.com or follow @jaemitheatre on Instagram.
About Jaemi Theatre Company
Jaemi Theatre is a newly formed AAPI-led performance initiative based in Washington, DC, co-founded by Artistic Director Youri Kim and Artistic Associate Juyoung Koh. “Jaemi” is Korean for “fun” and, in its Sino-Korean form, means “to live in America” and “to live in beauty.” The company creates interdisciplinary performance rooted in diasporic imagination and radical storytelling. Jaemi is a home for the unfinished and the unassimilated, where performance holds contradiction without needing to resolve it.
Sunday, March 1, 2026 6:36AM
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The San Francisco Ballet board has voted to cancel its upcoming performances at the Kennedy Center.
The company is scheduled for a four-day run in Washington D.C. in May.
Petition urges SF Ballet to cancel Kennedy Center tour stop as company opens 2026 season
Last year, Pres. Donald Trump overhauled the Kennedy Center’s board, including naming himself the chairman.
That led several artists to cancel scheduled performances.
A statement from SF Ballet says the group “looks forward to performing for Washington, D.C. audiences in the future.”
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At 97, Veteran Harley Wero wasn’t up for a trip to the nation’s capital, so volunteers from the Western North Dakota honor flight brought the trip to him. Wero, his wife Muriel and their daughter Jennifer got to experience Washington, DC, without ever leaving their home.
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