(FeaturedHeadlines.com) Oakland’s Democratic Mayor Sheng Thao denied her involvement in any wrongdoing and refused to resign from office days after the FBI officers raided her house and took away multiple boxes.
The investigators also raided the homes of David and Andy Duong, who are the owners of California Waste Solutions (CWS) and belong to the politically influential Doung family.
Thao argued that she was completely “innocent” and that she belonged to a poor immigrant family who fled persecution back home, adding that her parents never knew that their daughter would become the mayor of a major US city one day.
The details of the FBI raid on the mayor’s house remain unknown, but it is largely believed that they could be related to the 2020 CWS donation scandal to Thao’s campaign.
Thao read the prepared remarks from the notes she was carrying and reiterated her innocence. She claimed that she was quite sure that this investigation had nothing to do with her and that she will “cooperate fully” with the law enforcement in making the investigation “transparent.”
This speech only added to the troubles of Thao, whose attorney, Tony Brass, resigned moments after her address, claiming that the mayor conducted the news conference without informing him. Meanwhile Thao’s chief spokesman has also resigned after Brass’s resignation, which further increases her troubles.
Even before the FBI raid, Thao was already facing severe backlash as a recall campaign that sought to oust her from the office gathered enough signatures to appear on a November ballot.
Pro-recall advocates claimed that the progressive mayor has pushed the city into economic trouble and that she wrongfully fired the former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong.
However, Thao has called recall efforts against her a “waste” of resources, claiming that the effort is led by the wealthiest people in the Bay Area.
She also questioned the timing of the FBI raid, which happened just one day after the recall campaign against her qualified for the ballot.
Copyright 2024, FeaturedHeadlines.com
