Damaging scandal that's engulfed progressive Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao deepens as shocking new detail emerges about FBI raid on her home
Feds who raided Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao's home last month left with a phone belonging to her and her partner Andre Jones, it's been revealed.
The fact was first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle, after it was already revealed that agents left with the mayor's cellphone and her personal computer.
Within five days, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena to the Bay Area city that demanded all 'documents and communications related to Andre Jones' be turned over.
They also requested all 'calendar entries or records' of meetings that included either one of the two since June 2022 - five months before Thao, 39, was even elected.
More than a month later, feds have yet to say why they are interested in the pair, but the seizure of Jones' cellphone raise questions about the potential involvement of a man who played a small but significant role in the mayor's political career.
Feds who raided Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao's home last month reportedly left behind a phone belonging to her partner Andre Jones (top left). The couple are seen together at their shared home with Thao's 17-year-old son and her and Jones' 11-year-old daughter
The fact was first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle , after it was already revealed that agents left behind the mayor's cellphone and her personal computer
The spotlight on Jones had already widened in recent weeks, as Thao's former chief of staff, Renia Webb, publicly accused him of corruption.
Not offering any other detail, the ex-staffer said she had spoken to the FBI as part of their investigation as the subpoenas hinting at his involvement were sent.
A source with knowledge of the investigation, meanwhile, confided to the Chronicle Friday that investigators took Jones' phone.
A second insider insisted Jones - who lives at the home with Thao - stopped using his phone shortly after the raids June 20.
He instead switched to a new number, they said - asking to remain anonymous as feds' probe into the political power couple continues.
Jones reportedly would not comment when approached by the Chronicle - as was the case with his attorney.
Despite working in politics for decades - once as Oakland city Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan's chief of staff - Jones's life and political career are surprisingly shrouded in mystery, with little information available about him publicly.
Asked who is representing Jones, Thao's personal attorney, Jeff Tsai, deferred to attorney Walter Riley, who has not spoken on his client to the press.
Despite working in politics for decades - once as Oakland city Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan's chief of staff - Jones's life and political career is surprisingly shrouded in mystery. The fresh subpoena's appear to hint that he is the subject of feds' probe
Thao, meanwhile, declined to comment to the Chronicle as they reported on the records requests and the one for Jones's phone, as the mayor faces a recall attempt less than two years after taking office.
She has questioned the timing and legitimacy of the raids conducted by the FBI and US Postal Service as a result, as her attorney continues to exude confidence that she is not the target of their investigation.
Thao has also said Jones is not involved in her administration nor on the city payroll.
'He's hardly even been in my office,' she told KPIX this month.
A little more than a month ago, Webb, who served as Thao's chief of staff for 18 months, aired her belief that feds were looking into the longtime political staffer who fathered a now-11-year-old daughter with the Oakland mayor.
Webb - credited with running much of Thao's office and her campaign - accused Jones of classic pay-to-play corruption, including trying to lobby for jobs for Thao's donors and allies.
She said Jones' behavior bordered on ridiculous, with a stunt where he tried to involve his ex-wife in Thao's swearing in ceremony as mayor being the last straw before she quit.
That incident is said to have left Thao in tears, as she billed herself as a success story after surviving a bout of homelessness in the Bay Area as a single mom with her now-17-year-old son.
Thao, meanwhile, declined to comment to the Chronicle as they reported on the records requests and the one for Jones's phone, as the mayor faces a recall attempt less than two years after taking office
'I want to know how the TV cameras knew to show up on my sleepy residential street so early in the morning to capture footage of the raid,' she said in an emotional statement days after the raid last month.
'And I want to know why Fox News and Breitbart were so prepared to fan the flames and to tell a story that they want to tell, to bend the facts to shape the narrative.'
She also expressed her condolences for the victims of the recent Juneteenth gathering near Lake Merritt, where more than a dozen people were injured in a violent incident.
Thao did not take questions after her brief address, which was the last time she spoke in person about the matter
Her parents immigrated to the US from Laos during the Hmong genocide in the 80s, settling in Stockton as vegetable farmers.
It was only after this that Thao was born. She left home 17 years later after growing up with nine brothers and sisters.
In her 20s, she found herself in an abusive relationship, forcing her to flee to the streets while six months pregnant with her son.
The morning of the Thao raid, feds also stormed multiple properties belonging members of a politically connected family who run the city’s contracted recycling company. The nature of their investigation remains unknown
For several years, she raised him while staying at a friend's home.
Later, Thao met Jones while serving as an intern under Kaplan who was elected to the City Council in 2008, and had hired Jones as chief of staff for her office.
Jones would leave this post in 2016, before being appointed a year later as assistant chief of external and intergovernmental affairs at the California Bureau of Cannabis Control.
Thao, meanwhile, took his place as chief of staff, before winning a council seat in 2018.
Jones went on to leave his state job in 2021, the same year he ran for a seat on the Democratic Party’s coordinating committee in District 18, which includes Oakland and Alameda, as part of the Progressive & Labor Unity Slate.
He won - though the role is unpaid. He made contributions to Thao in 2018 and Kaplan in 2020.
It’s unclear what Jones has done professionally since.
Earlier this month, he grabbed a reporter’s business card from the front door before shutting it behind him, the Chronicle reported - after feds also stormed multiple properties belonging members of a politically connected family who run the city’s contracted recycling company.
Still, the nature of the investigation remains unknown, as the recall effort continues.
Back in March, the In-N-Out Burger in Oakland became the chain's first-ever location to close because of rampant crime in the area, as a Subway and a Denny's did as well.
The recall comes as residents continue to complain over rising rates of crime and homelessness - phenomena the mayor had promised to address.
Jones, meanwhile, has also tried his hand at acting, with three credits for low-budget movies released in 2003 and 2004.
