Federal authorities who raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao last month made off with a phone belonging to her and her partner Andre Jones, it emerged.
The fact was first reported by The San Francisco Chronicleafter it had already become known that officers had made off with the mayor’s mobile phone and computer.
Within five days, a federal grand jury sent a subpoena to the Bay Area city, demanding that it turn over all “documents and communications relating to Andre Jones.”
They also requested all “agenda items or minutes” of meetings in which either party appeared since June 2022 — five months before Thao, 39, was even elected.
More than a month later, federal authorities have still not disclosed why they are interested in the pair, but the seizure of Jones’ cellphone raises questions about the possible 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 (above left). The couple is seen together in their shared home with Thao’s 17-year-old son and her and Jones’ 11-year-old daughter
The incident was first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle after it was revealed that officers had left behind the mayor’s cell phone and personal computer
Attention on Jones had already intensified in recent weeks when Thao’s former chief of staff, Renia Webb, publicly accused him of corruption.
The former employee did not provide further details, but said she spoke to the FBI as part of their investigation when the subpoenas implicating him were sent out.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told the Chronicle on Friday that detectives had seized Jones’ phone.
A second insider claimed that Jones, who lives in the same house as Thao, stopped using his phone shortly after the June 20 raids.
Instead, he switched to a new number, they said, and wished to remain anonymous as the federal government’s investigation into the political power couple continues.
Jones reportedly declined to comment when contacted by the Chronicle, as did his attorney.
Despite Jones’ decades of political involvement — he once served as chief of staff to Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan — his life and political career are surprisingly shrouded in mystery, with little information available about him.
When asked who is representing Jones, Thao’s personal attorney, Jeff Tsai, referred Jones to attorney Walter Riley, who has not yet spoken to the press about his client.
Despite decades of political work — once as chief of staff to Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan — Jones’ life and political career have been surprisingly shrouded in mystery. The new subpoenas seem to suggest he is the subject of the federal government’s investigation
Thao declined to comment to the Chronicle when they reported on the requests for documents and the request for Jones’ phone, as the mayor is facing recall less than two years after taking office.
She therefore has doubts about the timing and legitimacy of the raids conducted by the FBI and the US Postal Service. However, her lawyer remains confident that she is not the target of their investigation.
Thao has also said that Jones is not involved in her administration and is not on the city’s payroll.
“He hasn’t even been in my office yet,” she told KPIX this month.
A little over a month ago, Webb, who served as Thao’s chief of staff for 18 months, expressed her belief that the federal government was investigating the longtime political staffer who fathered the Oakland mayor’s now 11-year-old daughter.
Webb, who ran much of Thao’s office and her campaign, accused Jones of classic money-sucking corruption, including attempts to lobby for jobs for Thao’s donors and allies.
She said Jones’ behavior was almost laughable, with a stunt in which he tried to involve his ex-wife in Thao’s swearing-in as mayor being the last straw before she stepped down.
Thao reportedly was in tears after the incident, calling herself a success story after becoming homeless as a single mother with her now 17-year-old son in the Bay Area.
Thao, meanwhile, declined to comment to the Chronicle as it reported on the requests for documents and the request for Jones’ phone, as the mayor faces an impeachment attempt less than two years after taking office.
“I want to know how the TV cameras knew to appear 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 willing to add fuel to the fire and tell a story that they wanted to tell, to twist the facts to shape the story.”
She also expressed her condolences to the victims of the recent Juneteenth rally at Lake Merritt, where more than a dozen people were injured in a violent incident.
Thao did not take questions after her brief speech, which was the last time she spoke personally on the issue
Her parents emigrated to the US from Laos during the Hmong genocide in the 1980s and settled in Stockton as greengrocers.
Only after that was Thao born. She left home 17 years later, after growing up with nine siblings.
In her twenties, she found herself in an abusive relationship and was forced to flee to the streets while six months pregnant with her son.
The morning of the Thao raid, federal authorities also raided multiple properties belonging to members of a politically connected family that runs the city’s contracted recycling business. The nature of their investigation remains unknown
For years she raised him with a friend.
Thao later met Jones while working as an intern under Kaplan, whoelected to the City Council in 2008 and hired Jones as chief of staff for her office.
Jones would step down from that position in 2016, before being named assistant chief of external and intergovernmental affairs at the California Bureau of Cannabis Control a year later.
Thao, meanwhile, took his place as chief of staff before winning a seat on the council in 2018.
Jones left his state job in 2021, the same year he ran for a seat on the Democratic Party Coordinating Committee in District 18, which includes Oakland and Alameda, as part of the Progressive & Labor Unity Slate.
He won – although the role is unpaid. He contributed to Thao in 2018 and Kaplan in 2020.
It is unclear what Jones has done professionally since then.
Earlier this month, he grabbed a reporter’s business card from the front door and then closed it behind him, the Chronicle reported – after Federal authorities also raided several properties owned by members of a politically connected family that runs the city’s contracted recycling company.
However, the nature of the investigation remains unknown, while the recall is still ongoing.
In March, In-N-Out Burger in Oakland became the first of the chain’s locations to close due to rising crime in the area. Subway and Denny’s were also forced to close.
The recall comes as residents continue to complain about rising crime and homelessness, phenomena the mayor had promised to address.
Jones has also ventured into acting, with three roles in low-budget films released in 2003 and 2004.