Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has offered to testify via video in front of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform on July 28 or 29, per ESPN’s John Keim and Tisha Thompson.
Led by Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, the Oversight Committee has been investigating allegations of a hostile and toxic workplace environment within the franchise and the NFL’s response to those allegations since October.
Per ESPN, Snyder’s attorney, Karen Patton Seymour, sent Maloney a letter stating that she had not heard from the committee since a June 30 phone conversation. The Oversight Committee offered to interview Snyder on July 6 or 8, and Seymour countered with July 28 or 29.
The Oversight Committee has stated that they’ve tried to serve a subpoena to Snyder to no avail thus far.
John Keim @john_keim
Statement from a House Oversight committee spokesperson: pic.twitter.com/qDtasDlAKH
However, Snyder’s camp has disputed that claim.
Darren M. Haynes @DarrenMHaynes
UPDATE from Dan Snyder Spokesperson:
“Mr. Snyder has not refused to appear for a deposition. The Committee offered only one date – June 30 – and Mr. Snyder’s attorney is out of the country and unavailable on that date.”
Full Story: https://t.co/WrYodddoMy pic.twitter.com/X97IAJkHLp
A committee spokesperson released a statement on the matter to ESPN Thursday:
“We remain committed to securing Mr. Snyder’s testimony on the toxic work environment at the Washington Commanders following his failure to appear voluntarily at the Committee’s hearing and his continued refusal to allow his attorney to accept service of a subpoena. We are continuing to negotiate with his counsel to ensure the Committee can obtain the full and complete testimony we need, and we are reviewing her latest correspondence.”
Per ESPN, the committee and Snyder’s team are negotiating terms for Snyder to testify. Seymour said that Snyder is going to Isreal to observe the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death for “much of July” and “into August.”
However, Snyder’s attorney also stated she would be willing to go to Israel for a private video deposition, and that the committee could then choose to release a portion or all of the transcript to the public.
The NFL previously hired independent counsel Beth Wilkinson to do an investigation of Washington’s workplace culture. That led to a $10 million fine among other sanctions. However, a report on the findings was not publicly released, leading to prompting from members of Congress to do so:
Rep. Don Beyer @RepDonBeyer
As Members of Congress from the National Capital Region, we represent the people impacted by the Commanders’ hostile work environment.
We see Dan Snyder is refusing to explain himself to Congress.
We have a clear message for the NFL and Commissioner Goodell: release the report. pic.twitter.com/Z8mh6cs9JE