Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao arrives at the federal courthouse with her attorney, Jeff Tsai. April 24, 2025
OAKLAND, Calif. - The attorney for former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao on Thursday indicated he may want to seek a change of venue for his client, potentially moving the bribery trial out of the town she presided over until she was ousted in a historic recall election.
Jeffrey Tsai told U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers that he is considering a change-of-venue motion, but is not sure if he will file it. The judge told him that if he does decide to file, he must do so by Sept. 11.
Thao, Andre Jones, whom she used to have a romantic relationship with, and father-and-son Andy and David Duong all appeared before the judge in a status conference hearing in their bribery case. It's unclear if Thao and Jones are still together. They came separately and sat in separate rows in the federal courtroom in Oakland.
All four were charged in January with bribery offenses.
Prosecutors allege that leading up to her mayoral race, Thao promised to take official actions as mayor to benefit the Duongs – the leaders of CalWaste Solutions and a modular home housing company – in exchange for the Duongs providing various perks to her and Jones.
All four defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Andy Duong arrives at federal court with his attorneys in a federal corruption case. Feb. 6, 2025
Defense attorneys also indicated they might want to file motions challenging the search warrants in the case.
Asst. U.S. Attorney Molly Priedeman said that the government has turned over much of the discovery and that when the two sides meet again on Nov. 20, she'd likely be ready to set a trial date.
Priedeman wasn't specific but said the government would be ready for trial sometime in the "middle of next year" and estimated the trial could take three to four weeks.
Near the end of the hearing, the judge looked around in the courtroom and noticed that only one of 10 defense attorneys – Shawn Halbert – was a woman.
Halbert is defending Jones, along with attorney Mark Goldrosen.
Tsai is defending Thao.
Edward Swanson, August Gugelmann, Neal Stephens and Jeffrey Schenk are defending David Duong.
Winston Chan, Douglas Sprague and Erik Babcok are defending Andy Duong.
"Is Ms. Halbert the only female defense trial attorney you have?" the judge asked aloud. "That is never lost on jurors."
Gonzales Rogers also admonished the attorneys ahead of time for potentially improperly leaking anything, including witness information or evidence, before the trial or they will "face my wrath."