A newly released subpoena is shedding light on what appears to be a federal grand jury investigation tied to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.
The subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office is addressed to Oakland's city attorney and covers all Oakland City Hall workers.
It demands in part the city hand over all records tied to California Waste Solutions, a group called Evolutionary Homes and documents tied to the mayor's partner Andre Jones.
The subpoena also demands records tied to the 2022 mayoral election as well as the development of the former Oakland army base.
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"I think the federal government is looking into what was [Thao] doing, who was she meeting with, what was being said to see whether there’s any link between any conduct that occurred after she became mayor and any campaign finance issues that occurred during the campaign," legal analyst Steven Clark said.
The FBI searched Thao's home last month, walking out with multiple boxes.
The mayor has not been charged with any crimes and has denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
California
Jones does not hold an official position with the city. He is Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan’s former chief of staff and is familiar with the workings of city hall.
"They’re going to look at whether he was acting in some capacity, making promises to people or indicating that he could get things done, and whether that in fact was true," Clark said.
Legal analysts said the investigation will likely take months and could lead to indictments by a federal grand jury.
"What the federal government needs to do now is connect the dots," Clark said. "They’ve gathered the information. Does that information lead to something nefarious?"
