Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao made her first public statements since last week's FBI raid on her home, offering some stern words for the agency and the proponents of the recall effort, though she did not take questions from the press.
Thao began the press conference by voicing her sadness and frustration about last Wednesday's shooting at "a large, unsanctioned event at Lake Merritt," saying, "I am sickened by this senseless act of violence."
But she quickly turned to discussing the raid on her home, its implications, and what she implies was a corrupt use of the federal justice system at the same time that she is facing a recall election.
"I want to be crystal clear. I have done nothing wrong," Thao said. "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 won't be charged with a crime, because I am innocent."
Visibly shaking and sounding angry, Thao said, "The timing of all this is troubling, and we should all be concerned."
She says she wants to know "what probable cause the FBI has, what evidence they have collected that justifies raiding the home of a city mayor without the courtesy of a conversation."
Thao points to the fact that it was just a day earlier that the signatures qualifying the recall effort for the ballot were certified, and she says, "I want to know more about the handful of billionaires from San Francisco and from Piedmont who are hellbent on running me out of office."
"I want to know how the TV cameras knew to show up on my sleepy residential street to capture footage of the raid," Thao adds. And she says that conservative media, like Fox News, have used this footage and news of the raid to "bend the facts to shape a narrative."
Thao also refers to how the recall effort has "Empowered a dangerous man with a history of assault weapons violations to attack me and my family." It's not clear who she is referring to.
Thao concluded her fiery speech saying, "This wouldn't have gone down how it did if I was rich, if I had gone to elite private schools... I was born poor in America, and that teaches you a lot about the world from Day One."
She added, "I'm not going down that like that... I will not be bullied, I will not be threatened out of office."
You can watch the whole speech here.
It is clear that Thao will now be fighting for her political future, and her rage was palpable.
As for whether Thao will face any charges, we still don't know. But people are starting to come forward with allegations, including Renia Webb, a former chief of staff for the mayor when she was a city councilmember, who says that pay-to-play schemes were in fact going on — and she tells KPIX has been interviewed by the FBI.
"A lot of what's coming out now is the reason I resigned shortly there after winning the election that we fought so hard to win," Webb tells the station.
Webb says that it was Thao's boyfriend, whom she describes as her partner, Andre Jones, who was the "mastermind" of these pay-to-play schemes. "I had found out that Andre, her boyfriend, was promising people jobs in our administration, promising people appointments on different commissions and boards," Webb tells KPIX.
Also subjected to an FBI raid the same morning last week was a longtime waste management contractor in Oakland, David Duong, and his son Any Duong, and there is already chatter that other city councilmembers in Oakland may have reason to be worried as well.
