Oakland’s embattled mayor, Shen Tao, slammed the federal investigation that led to an FBI raid on his California home last week, arguing that he would not have been targeted if he were wealthy and had attended a prestigious school.
Tao, who faces being fired in November due to rising crime and her departure from the Oakland Athletics, sounded defiant in her first comments since investigators visited her home.
“Let me be very clear: I have done nothing wrong,” Thao said Monday.
“I can confidently say this investigation is not about me.”
She claimed that she was being targeted while other politicians were doing far worse things.
“If I had money, if I had gone to a prestigious private school, or if I had come from a wealthy family, this wouldn’t have happened,” she said.
“I am convinced of that as former elected officials now sit safely in their Hillary homes amid a mountain of campaign finance violations.”
Thao’s home was searched early Thursday morning, along with two other Oakland-area homes belonging to David and Andy Duong, the father-son team who run California Waste Solutions and have a recycling contract with Oakland. NBC Bay Area reports.
Over the years, the two Duong tribes have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local politicians, including Thao.
The exact nature of the investigation is unclear, but investigators were seen removing boxes from Thao’s home during the search.
Tao, who lives at home with his partner, was apparently at the house with his son when the FBI arrived.
The mayor grew emotional at the news conference, wiping away tears as she recalled growing up as the daughter of poor refugees.
“When my parents came to this country fleeing genocide, they never would have imagined that their daughter would one day become mayor of Oakland. I am the wildest dream of my ancestors,” she said.
“And I’m your mayor. Mayor Shen Tao.”
But not everyone wants to be that way.
Crime in Oakland has soared since she took office in 2023, with violent crimes and property crimes up more than 20% from the previous year.
Some have blamed Thao, a progressive, for the problems, and in May a petition calling for a recall vote garnered the 25,000 signatures needed to get on the November ballot.
