An attorney representing the Washington Commanders sent a nine-page letter to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday objecting, in part, to the manner in which its investigation of the team has been pursued.
It also lays blame on former team president Bruce Allen for the team's "toxic workplace."
The letter was written by Tom Davis, who is a former Virginia Representative in Congress (1995-2008) and previous Chairman of the House Oversight Committee (2003-07). Davis identifies himself in the latter as "Counsel for the Washington Commanders."
Davis' letter (addressed to Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney) begins: "I understand that the investigation into the Washington Commanders' workplace may be reaching its conclusion and am writing to raise some concerns about the manner in which this investigation has been pursued and the purported evidence that the Committee has collected. To the extent that the Committee intends to issue a report, I believe that, in the interest of fundamental fairness, there is certain important evidence that must be considered and included."
Davis goes on to write: "From the beginning, the Committee set out with a singular purpose—to destroy Dan Snyder and his family and attempt, with deception, innuendo, and half-truths, to drive him from the National Football League.
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"This investigation reeks of the lowest form of politics and its only purpose is personal destruction. Rather than seeking the truth, the Committee has ignored exculpatory evidence and buried favorable witnesses. And this Committee has embraced individuals whose lack of integrity and decency would under normal circumstances universally prohibit them from ever being relied on by a Congressional committee."
Davis laid out how three former employees — Brian Lafemina, David Pauken and Allen — all "testified that they never witnessed Mr. Snyder sexually harass or assault anyone," despite not being "favorably disposed to Mr. Snyder."
"Unlike the witnesses the Committee is apparently inclined to rely on to support its false narrative," Davis writes, "each of these former executives had regular and extensive dealings in person with Mr. Snyder."
Davis also notably writes of Allen: "It is widely acknowledged that the single most significant step the Team took to remedy its toxic workplace was to rid itself of Mr. Allen. The fraternity-house culture that Mr. Allen instilled in the Commanders organization is the principal reason that the Commanders came under investigation in the first place. If the Committee had desired, it could have interviewed any of the current employees of the Commanders whose tenure extended back to the Allen years. Those employees would, almost universally, have identified Mr. Allen's departure as the date that the Team culture began to turn around."
A Committee spokesperson issued the following response (via Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch): "Although the Commanders’ owner has recently claimed to have turned over a new leaf, this latest effort to attack and intimidate former employees who have come forward casts doubt on this assertion—as does the team’s continued efforts to block the production of documents to the Committee. The Committee’s investigation will not be deterred by such tactics.”
You can read the letter in full here.
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