Oakland, California, Mayor Sheng Thao called on the FBI to tell the public she is “innocent” of wrongdoing after federal agents raided her home in June.
Thao, who is facing a myriad of challenges ahead of the Nov. 5 election, said it’s imperative for the FBI to swiftly clear her name when she faces a recall vote, the embattled mayor told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Nearly four months have passed since the federal agency searched her house, but Thao said she’s heard “nothing” from them, even though her lawyer sent the FBI a letter demanding answers.
“It is not appropriate to hear nothing from them. … We know that this is going to weigh a lot on our voters’ minds when they go to that poll booth,” she said. “But we know that here in the United States, that you are innocent until you are proven guilty. And I want voters to remember that.”
Thao has been linked to political corruption allegations surrounding the powerful Duong family, which has been accused of laundering and operating a widespread bribery system targeting elected officials. Andy Duong and David Duong, owners of California Waste Solutions, donated substantial funds to Thao’s City Council and mayoral campaigns, according to a Fair Political Practices Commission report.
The nonpartisan California agency oversees the state’s ethics and alleged that in 2019, Andy Duong gave Thao $9,900 for her City Council campaign by laundering it through 13 people. The FPPC wrote that Andy Duong “created a campaign contribution laundering scheme to benefit his family-owned company, California Waste Solutions.”
The Duongs allegedly used “straw donors,” or people who give money to a campaign and are covertly reimbursed by the real donor, to disguise the money they were giving to Thao, according to Oakland’s political watchdog, the Public Ethics Commission.
The FBI raided the homes of David Duong and Andy Duong on June 20, the same day the agency showed up at Thao’s home.
Thao has expressed shock over the FBI raid and has staunchly defended herself from accusations of accepting bribes and engaging in other shady practices.
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“I don’t have a criminal record,” she said this week. “I don’t even own any guns or anything like that.”
The effort to recall Thao came even before the FBI’s scrutiny of her became public. Her move to fire Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong in February 2023 sparked the movement from critics who were also concerned about the city’s crime and homelessness problems.