Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is not a “target” of the federal investigation, according to lawyer

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) – Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was not scheduled to report to work at City Hall on Friday, a day after the FBI raided her Oakland home.

Mayor Thao has hired Tony Brass, a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, as her attorney to represent her in a federal investigation.

“It’s really unfortunate that this arrest warrant was executed on her home. Because public exposure is filled with images of corruption. And I can tell you, I’ve spoken to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. And I have no information that she is currently in the crosshairs,” says Brass.

Early Thursday morning, more than a dozen FBI agents raided Mayor Thao’s Oakland home. Four hours later, they hauled away boxes and bags of evidence. Law enforcement sources told ABC7 News it was a case of public corruption involving the FBI, IRS and the U.S. Postal Service.

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Brass points out, however, that the search warrants were for the address of the mayor’s residence and not specifically for Mayor Thao.

“It suggests that the information you were looking for was stored there or on a device, whether it was information itself that suggested a crime was committed or simply confirmed information,” Brass explains.

Federal authorities also targeted two homes linked to the Duong family, which owns California Waste Solutions, a garbage recycling company that operates in the East Bay and South Bay. The Doungs are also major political donors.

Nenna Joiner is a small business owner in Oakland. She believes Mayor Thao is innocent until proven guilty, but she worries about how public opinion will affect the matter, especially since the mayor is up for recall in November.

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“But the fact that it is our mayor, and someone who has leadership skills, who has removed the (previous) police chief,” says Joiner.

Joiner is part of a growing chorus of people calling for the mayor’s resignation. She believes Mayor Thao’s personal problems are distractions and damaging Oakland’s reputation as a magnet for talent and investment.

“We just had a shooting. And we just got a police chief. We couldn’t bring our mayor out for that (the shooting). We couldn’t bring her out and talk about it. That’s outrageous!” Joiner says, referring to the Juneteenth mass shooting in which 15 people were shot.

Brass stresses that the mayor has not been arrested and that she is cooperating fully with the authorities. And that the investigation does not in any way prevent her from carrying out her duties as mayor.

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The City of Oakland issued a statement Friday morning saying that despite the controversy, everything is business as usual:

“Under the City Charter, the City Manager is responsible for the day-to-day administrative and financial operations of the City under the policy direction of the Office of the Mayor. In his role as City Manager, Jestin Johnson leads City agencies and departments to ensure that the goals and policies of the Mayor and City Council are implemented.”

Oakland says managing day-to-day operations is part of City Manager Jestin Johnson’s responsibilities and he is performing that role.

So far, the FBI has only confirmed that it conducted a “court-authorized law enforcement action” at the mayor’s home.

It is still unclear what was found at the four locations searched on Thursday.