Day 7
—Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s defense attorney Jeffrey Tsai spent much of Monday methodically picking apart the federal government’s evidence against his client, suggesting prosecutors selectively presented text messages and recordings to bolster their allegations of a sweeping public corruption conspiracy.
The lengthy cross-examination of FBI Special Agent Katherine Barclay marked a potentially significant moment for Thao’s defense, which has maintained that the former mayor neither participated in a bribery scheme nor knowingly benefited from money allegedly funneled to her longtime partner, Andre Jones.
Tsai’s strategy was to provide jurors with a fuller picture of communications that federal prosecutors presented last week, particularly text exchanges involving Mario Juarez, the political operative at the center of the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors allege Juarez helped orchestrate a deal involving negative campaign mailers targeting Thao’s 2022 mayoral opponent, Loren Taylor, in exchange for political favors benefiting the Duong family’s business interests.
But Tsai highlighted a series of messages suggesting Thao frequently ignored Juarez in the month leading up to the November 2022 election.
On Sept. 19, 2022, Juarez congratulated Thao on securing the Alameda County Democratic Party’s endorsement. Seven additional messages followed without a response from Thao until Oct. 5, 2022.
Notably, Tsai emphasized, the messages did not explicitly reference a bribery agreement or confirm that Thao had agreed to purchase 100 modular housing units, as prosecutors allege.
Tsai repeatedly asked Barclay whether various communications established a deal or agreement involving Thao. She responded no each time.
The defense also challenged the significance of a document titled “Deal Points for Sheng Thao :: Election :: Post Election” that laid out the alleged corruption scheme in detail. Barclay’s acknowledgment that it was never sent to Thao.
Perhaps Tsai’s strongest line of questioning concerned the government’s contention that Thao indirectly benefited financially from payments to Jones, including assistance with household expenses.
Prosecutors have suggested that money flowed from Evolutionary Homes and Juarez to help Jones cover rent, utilities and other mounting expenses shared with Thao.
Tsai countered with text messages depicting a financially strained relationship in which Thao demanded that Jones pay the rent.
“Stop texting me,” Thao wrote to Jones on Dec. 14, 2022. “And pay the f—king rent.”
Another message from January 2023 urged Jones to figure out how to pay rent, while correspondence from the property manager indicated the couple had lost online payment privileges because of missed payments.
Tsai suggested to jurors that federal prosecutors had misunderstood a key series of text messages between Thao and Jones concerning their difficulties paying rent.
One text message from Thao to Jones on Jan. 4, 2023, read, “Pls figure out how we pay rent his month asap.” Federal prosecutors interpreted the message as referring to the couple’s inability to make the payment because of insufficient funds.
Tsai, however, argued that the message concerned how the couple would physically make the payment after their property manager cut off access to online payments.
Tsai additionally noted that no cash was seized during the FBI’s June 2024 search of Thao’s home.
Later, Andy Duong’s attorney, Erik Babcock, challenged the completeness of federal investigators’ phone records, identifying 23 calls between Andy and his father, David Duong, missing from a summary covering a three-week period.
He additionally questioned Juarez’s claims about the value of a Rolex watch allegedly stolen during a violent confrontation, suggesting the watch might have been counterfeit, and that he lied to Oakalnd police investigators.
—A TRIAL AT A SNAIL’S PACE— FBI Special Agent Katherine Barclay has occupied the witness stand since last Monday, underscoring the painstaking pace of a trial now entering its third week.
She will return to the stand for a fifth day on Tuesday morning. Attorneys for the defendants indicated Barclay could remain on the stand for up to three more hours.
With cross-examination consuming much of the proceedings, the high-profile case is moving at a snail’s pace despite an already ambitious schedule stretching toward Thanksgiving.
Several jurors appeared to be struggling to stay engaged during the defense attorneys’ questioning Monday. One juror repeatedly yawned during cross-examination. (I probably yawned 14 times myself.)
The jurors’ apparent fatigue did not go unnoticed by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
After Monday’s proceedings concluded and with jurors out of the courtroom, the judge warned defense attorneys that they were losing the jury’s attention.
“I’m not telling y’all how to present your case, but that jury’s eyes are glazing over,” she said.
Mario Juarez, the prosecution’s star witness, may take the stand this week, the government said on Monday.
—UP NEXT— Federal prosecutors indicated that Cecilia Mendez will be the next witness Tuesday. Mendez is Juarez’s former girlfriend, the mother of one of his children, and a business associate who worked for Evolutionary Homes.
Mendez recorded Evolutionary Homes board meetings to produce meeting minutes. One recording allegedly captures David Duong voicing frustration with the slow pace of a proposed sale of modular housing units to Oakland.
In addition, prosecutors said they expect Juarez, a key witness for the government, to testify sometime this week.
NAME DROPS: Victor Aguilar, Jr., San Leandro councilember; Ben Bartlett, Berkeley councilmember; Jesse Arreguin, state senator; Larry Reid, former Oakland councilmember; Desley Brooks, former Oakland councilmember; Ken Houston, Oakland councilmember (all references to elected officials not interviewed by the FBI agent); Elihu Harris, former Oakland mayor (reference in text by Juarez about no longer being friends); Noel Gallo, Oakland councilmember (reference in text between Juarez and Thao about his popularity with Latino voters); Ignacio De La Fuente, former Oakland councilmember (Juarez text saying Latinos are not supporting in him 2022 election);
Libby Schaaf, former Oakland mayor (reference to her appearing on Juarez mailer); Pamela Price, former Alameda County DA (reference to her appearing on Juarez mailer); Nate Miley, Alameda County supervisor (text suggesting he attend a meeting with Juarez); Shawn Wilson, chief of staff for an Alameda County supervisor (text suggesting he attend the same meeting); BottleRock music festival in Napa (text between Jones and Thao about attending); Oakland A’s (passing reference to team relocating).
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