Commanders' Dan Snyder Has Offer to Testify Before House Accepted Under Subpoena

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform accepted an offer from Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder to testify July 28 as part of the committee's ongoing investigation into the franchise.

Per ESPN's John Keim, Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney wrote a letter to Snyder's attorney, Karen Patton Seymour, indicating the committee will let Snyder testify but only under subpoena.

The Washington Post's Liz Clarke explained the distinction:

On June 27, the committee issued a statement saying Snyder had "so far refused to accept service on the Committee's subpoena." The committee added it would "not tolerate attempts to evade service of a duly authorized subpoena or seek special treatment not afforded to other witnesses who testified in this manner."

A spokesperson for Snyder pushed back on the assertion, saying he was out of the country on the day the committee requested (June 30) for his deposition.

Seymour wrote a letter to Maloney saying Snyder would be open to testifying over Zoom on July 28 or 29. His availability was limited because he had a planned trip to Israel spanning "much of July" and into August.

The House Committee first reached out to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last October, requesting information about the NFL's investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct within the Commanders.

In July 2021, the league fined the organization $10 million and removed Snyder from day-to-day operations indefinitely based on the findings of Beth Wilkinson.

In prepared testimony for the committee, Goodell said the workplace environment in Washington was "unprofessional and unacceptable in numerous respects: bullying, widespread disrespect toward colleagues, use of demeaning language, public embarrassment, and harassment."

The full findings of the investigation were never made public, and Goodell confirmed in his testimony the NFL didn't receive a written report from Wilkinson.

While the House Committee was conducting its investigation, new allegations surfaced about the Commanders possibly withholding a percentage of the ticket revenue they were required to share with their fellow teams.

The Commanders denied the allegation, though the NFL began looking into the matter.