Oakland’s embattled mayor, Shen Tao, spoke publicly for the first time Monday after federal agents searched his home.
“Let me be clear: I have done nothing wrong,” Tao said from the podium, reading from prepared remarks. “I can confidently say that this investigation is not about me. I have not been charged with a crime, and I am confident that I will not be charged with a crime because I am innocent.”
Her statement was, FOX 2 broadcasts The incident came four days after FBI agents removed boxes from the home she shares with her son and partner as part of an investigation that also included searches of two other homes owned by different family members.
Tao said the timing of the very public search, which came just days after supporters of the mayoral recall were informed by the city clerk that they had gathered enough signatures to likely qualify for the November ballot, was “troubling.”
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Mayor Shen Tao reacts while delivering his first State of the City address at City Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Jane Tiszka/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
Thao derided the recall effort as a waste of time and resources and suggested a handful of billionaires in San Francisco and the Piedmont were “desperately” trying to force her out of office.
“I want to know why the day after the passage of a recall election funded by powerful people in the Bay Area was thought to be the appropriate day to execute the warrant,” Thao said.
FBI agents remove boxes from a residence associated with Oakland Mayor Shen Tao during a raid in Oakland, California, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Media News Group/Mercury News via Getty Images)
Supporters of the recall argue that public safety and economic vitality have deteriorated under a politically progressive mayor, and that the mayor should not have fired Police Chief Leron Armstrong.
Tao and her son were apparently at home on Thursday morning when the attack occurred, and she said making sure they were safe was her top priority.
Investigators also searched two homes owned by members of the politically influential Duong family, which owns recycling company Cal Waste Solutions and is under investigation for making campaign contributions to Thao and other city elected officials, local news outlet The Oakland Side reported in 2020.
Before his resignation on Monday, Tao’s lawyer, Tony Blass, said the Oakland mayor was not the subject of the recent investigation.
“Mayor Thao is ready, willing and able to cooperate fully with federal investigators. She has nothing to hide,” Blas said.
Mayor Blas reportedly resigned on Monday after Mayor Thao held a press conference without informing him. Kron 4.
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Thao, 38, was appointed in 2023. She is of Hmong ethnicity and grew up in a poor family, she said.
“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 my ancestors’ wildest dream,” she said. “And I am your mayor. Mayor Shen Tao.”
Fox News Digital’s Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
