‘Just An Embarrassment’: Recall Leader Blasts Oakland Mayor’s ‘Unhinged’ Response To FBI Raid

last year

Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte joined Cat Oriel on “Forbes Newsroom” to discuss the FBI raid on Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s home and her response.

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Transcript

00:00So what was your reaction to the FBI agents raiding her home?

00:04You know, you're so heads down on the recall efforts.

00:06Was this a complete surprise?

00:07I mean, a lot of people might be confused thinking it's related.

00:10Is it all related to the recall efforts?

00:12And why did the raid even happen?

00:14It's I have no idea why it happened.

00:17I wasn't surprised, as everyone else, that the raid occurred.

00:22I had although I knew that she was under investigation

00:27because I talked with her chief of staff about a year or so ago

00:31who had told me that they had taken her to the FBI

00:37and that the FBI was investigating on them.

00:40People I knew about an investigation that certainly did not expect it to occur

00:45when it did occur.

00:47And the timing of it was just, you know,

00:51very coincidental, although some people have conspiracy theory going on out there

00:56that that we coordinated with the FBI.

00:59It's kind of like, OK, that would have been a lot of moving parts.

01:02OK, you get the R.O.D.

01:03The registrar vote is on Tuesday to say the signatures are good.

01:07And then we have our press conference.

01:08And then we've coordinated with the FBI and IRS and U.S.

01:13Postal Service to come in and do this.

01:16This is the raid on Thursday and raid her home,

01:21as well as other homes and businesses.

01:23It's just, you know, it is ridiculous that the conspiracy theory

01:27that she spread today is just an embarrassment for her.

01:32So you mentioned a little bit her press conference today.

01:34So what was your reaction to now that hearing her defending her,

01:38defending her innocence following the raid and also slamming the recall campaign?

01:42Yes, it was pathetic.

01:45I thought it was an unhinged way to address the problems.

01:51He is now an absent mayor.

01:54She was already an absent mayor in many regards, many levels.

01:59But to spew out this unhinged

02:03conspiracy theory just lets me know that she really is not well.

02:08She is not capable of leading Oakland.

02:12But she wanted to think about what she is saying.

02:15Nobody, sane people will not buy into what she's saying.

02:23But I thought it was sad.

02:26I thought it was pathetic.

02:27I thought it was an embarrassment and that she and also she basically said

02:32that she'd done something wrong.

02:33I mean, she's like, you know, something about

02:36I haven't done any more than other people have done.

02:39And so it's like that's not something you say.

02:43You know, OK, yeah, I get wrong.

02:47But I just think that

02:50just it just lacks good judgment.

02:53This is just another example.

02:55More judgment.

02:57And she wants to be a victim.

02:59She thinks people should forget all the reasons that we had

03:03for recalling her and then let her play victim and feel sorry for her.

03:08Feeling sorry for her is not going to get Oakland out of the problems.

03:14It's not going to solve the problems that Oakland is facing.

03:17And this budget is a disaster.

03:19This budget is going to bankrupt.

03:23And you got city council members there who instead of really

03:27asking the critical questions and stopping this

03:30the bankruptcy of the city, they're going along with it.

03:34But that's what they have been doing all along.

03:36So many of them have been enabling this mayor

03:39as this mayor has taken down the city of Oak.

‘Just An Embarrassment’: Recall Leader Blasts Oakland Mayor’s ‘Unhinged’ Response To FBI Raid

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