A GOP spokesperson is pushing back on the reported push by a congressional committee to expand its investigation into the Washington Commanders, calling it a "waste of Congress' time."
A series of reports Thursday indicated that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which is actively investigating the Commanders' workplace culture and the NFL's subsequent handling of Beth Wilkinson's investigation, is moving to expand that investigation to pursue allegations of "financial improprieties."
GOP Oversight Spokesperson Austin Hacker said in a statement on Friday: "The leak of one-sided, unconfirmed, unsupported allegations from a disgruntled ex-employee with an ax to grind is just further proof the Democrats' investigation is a waste of Congress' time."
"Nothing the Committee has heard from any credible witness points to any financial improprieties; in fact, the only credible witness in a position to know the facts the Democrats have heard from has denied any such improprieties," he continued. "The Democrats' investigation is nothing more than an attempt to draw attention away from their party's abysmal performance, both in the White House and Congress. The American people deserve better oversight from Congress."
In response to Thursday's reports, the Commanders issued a categorical denial of any suggestion of financial impropriety "of any kind at any time."
"The team is not aware of any investigation by the House Oversight Committee regarding financial matters, despite vague and unsubstantiated claims today by anonymous sources," a Commanders spokesperson said Thursday. "The team categorically denies any suggestion of financial impropriety of any kind at any time. We adhere to strict internal processes that are consistent with industry and accounting standards, are audited annually by a globally respected independent auditing firm, and are also subject to regular audits by the NFL. We continue to cooperate fully with the Committee’s work."
Wilkinson was initially hired by Snyder in July 2020 to look into decades of sexual harassment allegations from former team employees. The NFL later wrested control of that investigation away from Snyder.
Wilkinson concluded her investigation nearly a year later and was asked to provide the league with an oral report. Her findings never saw the light of day, publicly. The NFL fined Washington $10 million and Snyder ceded day-to-day operations of the team over to his wife, Tanya, who had just been installed as co-CEO days earlier.
The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation in October 2021, spearheaded by a team of Democrats who were dismayed by the NFL's lack of transparency in its handling of Wilkinson's investigation. The committee hosted a public roundtable on Feb. 3 (coincidentally, one day after the team announced its new 'Commanders' moniker) to hear from former team employees and their personal testimonies.
One of the participants of that roundtable was Tiffani Johnston, a former cheerleader and marketing manager, who told the committee that Snyder harassed her at a team dinner by placing his hand on her thigh underneath the dinner table. Later that same evening, she said, is when Snyder attempted to "aggressively" push her into his limo, and that Snyder only relented after his also-present attorney insisted Snyder's course of action was "a very bad idea, Dan."
Snyder, after dismissing Johnston's claims as "outright lies," attempted to launch his own new investigation into them, prompting a rare public rebuke from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "I do not see any way that a team can do its own investigation of itself," Goodell said at his annual pre-Super Bowl press conference in February.
The NFL went on to launch a separate investigation to pursue Johnston's claims, led by Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
