Commanders lawyers slam House committee's investigation

Attorneys for Dan Snyder criticize House Oversight Committee investigation

Attorneys for the Washington Commanders sent a scathing nine-page letter Wednesday to the congressional committee that has been looking into allegations of the team's toxic workplace culture.

In the letter, Tom Davis and the rest of the counsel for the Commanders claim that the investigation by the House Oversight Committee has been "a politically inspired hatchet job" designed to take down team owner Dan Snyder.

The letter claimed that the investigation "reeks of the lowest form of politics."

It was sent to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform and addressed to Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the committee's chairwoman. Stuart Nash, John Brownlee, and Davis signed it on behalf of the firm Holland & Knight.

"The investigation of the Washington Commanders has not been fair, thorough, or bipartisan, and it certainly hasn’t sought the truth," the letter reads. "From the beginning, the committee set out with a singular purpose — to destroy Dan Snyder and his family."

Davis writes the committee "has shown little interest in the current state of the team’s workplace," and that lawmakers have relied on testimony from "the same people who were responsible for the toxic workplace culture."

A spokesperson for the committee responded, saying that the goal of the investigation is to "uncover the truth" and to ensure that the team’s employees "are protected from abuse and harassment."

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A Commanders spokesperson sent FOX 5 a statement that alleges the committee is "only interested in scoring political points."

"The Chairwoman of this Committee has already lost her congressional seat for pursuing these misplaced priorities, and the Chairman on the subcommittee has been referred to the Congressional Ethics Office for illegally seeking to raise campaign funds on the basis of his targeting of Mr. Snyder. If the committee were serious about finding the truth, it would interview all the witnesses, and review all the documents," the statement reads.

"Plainly, the committee prefers to cherry-pick only that evidence that supports the narrative with the most fundraising appeal. Moreover, anytime Mr. Snyder attempts to defend himself with truthful evidence, this committee falsely characterizes his actions as an attempt to attack and intimidate his accusers. Our only request is that the committee conduct a fair and transparent investigation and tell the truth about what actually happened. The American people deserve better than this."

Congress launched an investigation into Washington's workplace culture in 2021 after the league declined to release a report of its independent review into the organization. The Commanders were fined $10 million.

The committee has since looked into accusations of pervasive sexual harassment of women who worked for the team by Snyder and other executives.

The committee said Snyder conducted a "shadow investigation" that sought to discredit former employees making accusations of workplace sexual harassment, hired private investigators to intimidate witnesses, and used an overseas lawsuit as a pretext to obtain phone records and emails.

Snyder testified remotely before the congressional committee in July for nearly 11 hours as part of the committee's investigation into his team’s workplace culture.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.