FBI investigation in Oakland expands to its police department

It may just be a legal technicality, or it may be a sign that the FBI smells something fishy with the Oakland PD, as the latest federal subpoena in “Sheng Thao raid-gate” asks for a slew of records from the Oakland Police Department.

Now nearly a full month later, we still don’t know why the FBI raided Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s home on the morning of June 20. And no one has been publicly accused of any wrongdoing in the affair (yet), at least by the feds. But the FBI does not go around raiding elected officials’ homes, or the homes of their biggest campaign donors, just for kicks. So journalists are certainly sniffing around for clues to what this was all about, and what it could be about if and when anyone is charged with anything.

Last week, Oaklandside reported that the FBI had freshly subpoenaed phone directory records from the Oakland Police Department. And in follow-up reporting today, the Bay Area News Group notes that the FBI has also subpoenaed information on federal funds received by the City of Oakland.