After the FBI investigation began, calls for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao to resign are growing

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) – At Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s home, there were no signs that anyone was home until Saturday evening.

But on Friday, the troubled mayor’s lawyer spoke about the impending federal investigation into possible public corruption.

“I would like to point out that the search warrants are for this address,” said Tony Brass, a former federal prosecutor who now represents Thao. “We also have no information to suggest that Mayor Thao is the target of this investigation.”

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Early Thursday morning, FBI agents raided Mayor Thao’s home, hauling away boxes of evidence. Brass points out that the search warrants were for Mayor Thao’s address and did not name the mayor by name.

“The mayor was not arrested. It is just a search warrant. There are no restrictions on the mayor,” Brass explains.

Federal authorities also targeted two homes belonging to the Duong family, a major donor to Oakland politics.

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Although Brass states that Mayor Thao is not subject to any restrictions in her role as mayor, there are increasing calls among the population for Thao to resign.

“Resign now! Let November 5th be election day for a new mayor!” Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte shouted at a rally in front of Oakland City Hall on Wednesday, the day before the raid.

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The group Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao (OUST) held the rally to announce that city officials had approved the number of signatures they submitted that are needed to put Mayor Thao’s recall on the November ballot.

“The FBI will never tell you whether you are under investigation or not. They don’t have to tell you until they convene a grand jury and call you to testify. Then they will tell you,” says Harbin-Forte, a former Alameda County Superior Court judge who heads the OUST.

The judge says Thao is presumed innocent because he has not even been charged, but she believes the investigation will be a diversion, especially as the city council faces a historic budget deficit in the coming weeks.

“And I think it’s time to step aside and let others lead, let others lead Oakland,” Harbin-Forte says.

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The Oakland chapter of the NAACP issued a statement echoing this sentiment, saying in part: “The people of Oakland deserve a mayor who is undistracted, fully engaged and capable of leading the city.”

Legal experts believe the current federal investigation could take months or even longer.