Oakland’s embattled mayor Sheng Thao gave her first public remarks Monday after federal agents raided her home.
“I want to be crystal clear. I have done nothing wrong,” Thao said, reading prepared remarks from the podium. “I can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me. I have not been charged with a crime, and I am confident I will not be charged with a crime because I am innocent.”
Her remarks, carried by FOX 2, come four days after FBI agents carried boxes out of the home she shares with her son and partner as part of an investigation that included searches of two other houses owned by another family.
Thao said the timing of the very public raid was “troubling” as it came days after backers of a mayoral recall were informed by the city clerk that they had collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, likely in November.
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Mayor Sheng Thao reacts while delivering her first State of the City address at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
Thao derided the recall campaign as a waste of time and resources. She suggested that a handful of billionaires from San Francisco and Piedmont are “hellbent” on running her out of office.
“I want to know why the day following the qualification of a recall election, funded by some of the richest people in the Bay Area, seemed like the right day to execute a warrant,” Thao said.
FBI agents carry boxes out of a…
