Judge denies defense evidence on eve of former Oakland mayor’s bribery trial

Businessman David Duong asked for the financial records of the government's star witness Mario Juarez, a former associate of recalled Duong, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and their co-defendants.OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — Just one day before a high-profile bribery and corruption trial involving a former Oakland mayor, one defendant asked the court to order the government to produce its star witness’s tax records Thursday.David Duong, a well-connected businessman in Oakland, requested the government produce Mario Juarez’s tax returns, in order to poke holes in Juarez’s credibility as a reliable witness. Juarez was previously business partners with Duong and his son, Andy Duong, a co-defendant.But Chief U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonazalez Rogers was quick to deny the documents as evidence at a motion hearing Thursday, but did not expound on her reasons, saying her ruling would be out shortly.Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Priedeman said the defense’s motion, along with another filed Thursday morning also requesting government records, had no basis in law.She said although Juarez is a cooperating witness, doesn’t mean the government “has the returns in our possession,” noting that most of Juarez’s seized materials from search warrants — two iCloud and an email review — are now sealed and haven’t been looked at in over a year.“I’m not aware of a law that would allow the defense to dictate the government’s search warrants,” she told the court. “That would violate the Fourth Amendment.”In January 2025, the government indicted recalled Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, charging her with six counts of conspiracy and bribery. Her romantic partner Andre Jones and the Duongs — a prominent Oakland family with associations in real estate and politics — were also charged in the scheme. All four have pleaded not guilty.Thao is accused of taking bribes of up to $95,000 in cash payments to further the business interests of the Duong family, which owns local recycling business California Waste Solutions.In 2022, Juarez started Evolutionary Homes, a shipping container shelter company, with the Duongs. Federal prosecutors claim the Duongs bribed Thao and Jones to secure city contracts for Evolutionary Homes and California Waste Solutions. Juarez will likely testify, along with over 50 other possible witnesses, at the trial.Prosecutors also claim the Duongs paid Jones for a no-show job and $75,000 in political attack ads against Thao’s mayoral opponents in the 2022 election. Thao was recalled in November 2024.In 2024, Juarez gave information to the FBI after a falling out with the Duongs. The defendants’ homes and the California Waste Solutions building were raided by the FBI in June 2024.On Thursday, defense attorneys also raised issues about the 75-person jury pool, saying many were exposed to news reports about the case and may have already come to conclusions about the defendants.“They have a firm opinion of guilt,” said David Duong’s attorney Edward Swanson. “It would not be good for the court’s time to bring them in,” he said.Rogers, a Barack Obama appointee, was skeptical that many of the potential jurors will need to be excused because of media exposure. Eighteen jurors will be selected, nine for the jury and nine alternates.“I have zero interest in having a jury that has been polluted, but I can’t have an answer on what to do about it in a vacuum,” she said.“There are a lot of people who don’t even know who these people are,” she said about the defendants.Jury selection begins Oct. 13 at the Ronald V. Dellums Courthouse in Oakland.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads