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Congress Says Snyder Used ‘Shadow Investigation’ Against Accusers Amid NFL Investigation

The Commanders team owner did not testify in Wednesday’s hearing, and now, Rep. Maloney announced her intent to issue a subpoena.

Madeline Coleman

New evidence was released by Congress Wednesday that alleged Commanders team owner Dan Snyder conducted a “shadow investigation” as lawyer Beth Wilkinson did her internal probe for the NFL.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform, released a memo on Wednesday morning ahead of the committee’s hearing on its investigation. 

According to the memo, Snyder not only allegedly used private investigators in his own probe but also “abused the subpoena power of federal courts to obtain private emails, call logs, and communications in an effort to uncover the sources of the Washington Post’s exposés, undermine their credibility, and impugn their motives.”

The committee had requested that Snyder and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell testify Wednesday in front of the committee concerning the investigation into the Commanders. Snyder declined but Goodell did attend. He reiterated that the league will not release a written report based on the investigation into the alleged toxic workplace culture within the Commanders franchise led by Beth Wilkinson.

The committee’s months-long probe that began in October 2021 is looking into the franchise’s workplace culture, how the league handled misconduct reports, “the NFL’s role in setting and enforcing standards across the League, and legislative reforms needed to address these issues across the NFL and other workplaces,” according to the committee’s press release from earlier this month.

The 29-page memo details how Snyder allegedly worked to discredit individuals accusing him but also how the league failed to act independently as well during its internal investigation. Snyder and other Washington executives are accused of misconduct as well as attempting to influence Wilkinson’s investigation. 

The memo detailed how his “legal team made multiple presentations to the NFL during Ms. Wilkinson’s investigation, including one that involved a 100-page PowerPoint slide detailing the private communications and social media activity of Washington Post journalists and former employees.” 

New allegations also emerged about how Snyder dismissed harassment claims. 

  • David Pauken, who served as the chief operating officer for the Commanders from 2001 to ’06, testified during a Committee deposition that when Snyder “learned that a member of the team’s coaching staff had groped a public relations employee, he refused to take action against the coach and instead directed that the employee who had been groped “‘stay away from the coach.’”
  • Brian Lafemina, who worked as the president of business operations and chief operating officer for the Commanders in 2018, detailed in his deposition how Snyder defended a former senior executive who was accused of sexual harassment. “[Snyder] said that Larry [Michael] was a sweetheart and that Larry wouldn’t hurt anybody.”
  • Pauken testified that Snyder was responsible for the over-sexualization of Washington’s cheerleader program.
  • Pauken testified that Snyder and another Commanders executive “wanted access to the [cheerleader] calendar shoots for sponsors and others—other paying customers. It could have been a suite holder. It could have been anybody paying money would have been probably eligible. It was considered an experience that could be sold.”
    He said, “There wasn’t a year that went by where Dan didn’t push me to allow Dennis Greene or other people in the sales and marketing staff to allow sponsors or other paying guests to attend a calendar shoot. And I never allowed it.”
  • Jason Friedman detailed how the team’s culture “glorified drinking and womanizing.” He also described how Snyder “used fear to prevent employees and even executives from speaking out against this toxic work culture, noting: ‘The silence was the enabler and the silence was driven by fear, and that fear was justified by actions. It was not concocted. People were afraid to lose their jobs because they had seen so many others lose their jobs.’”

Snyder’s spokesperson released a statement concerning the new allegations, describing the report, the legislation and hearing as “a politically-charged show trial.”

It’s key to note that the Post previously reported that “lawyers and private investigators working on Snyder’s behalf took steps that potential witnesses … viewed as attempts to interfere with the NFL’s investigation.” The numerous alleged attempts to interfere included reaching a $1.6 million settlement with a former employee who described sexual misconduct by the co-owner and filing petitions to identify employees who had spoken to the Post. 

Details concerning what led to this settlement emerged on Tuesday in a report from the Post, detailing how in 2009 a woman employee accused Snyder of sexual harassment and assault. 

Tiffani Johnston, a former Commanders employee, detailed new allegations during the committee’s roundtable earlier this year that directly implicated Snyder, who denied them. 

“I learned that placing me strategically by the owner at a work dinner after this networking event was not for me to discuss business, but to allow him to place his hand on my thigh under the table,” Johnston said in her opening statement. “I learned how to discreetly remove a man’s unwanted hand from my thigh at a crowded dinner table, at a crowded restaurant to avoid a scene. I learned that job survival meant I should continue my conversation with another co-worker rather than to call out Dan Snyder right then, in the moment.

“I also learned later that evening how to awkwardly laugh while Dan Snyder aggressively pushed me towards his limo with his hand on my lower back, encouraging me to ride with him to my car. I learned how to continue to say no even though a situation was getting more awkward, uncomfortable and physical.”

During Wednesday’s hearing, Rep. Maloney announced her intent to issue a subpoena for Snyder for a deposition. She said, “Mr. Snyder’s refusal to testify sends a clear signal that he is more concerned about protecting himself than coming clean to the American public. If the NFL is unwilling to hold Mr. Snyder accountable, then I am prepared to do so. The Committee will not be deterred in its investigation to uncover the truth of workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders.”

The NFL has shared numerous documents with the committee throughout the investigation, such as a Common Interest Agreement between the NFL and Washington and an engagement letter between Wilkinson’s firm and the franchise. Here is a summary of what was found in the documents.

Additionally, the committee penned an explosive letter to the Federal Trade Commission, asserting that the Commanders and Snyder “may have engaged in a troubling, long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct that victimized thousands of team fans and the National Football League.” Here is more on the letter and evidence from the committee.

However, one key document that has not been released is the findings from Wilkinson’s report. Last fall, multiple women involved in the investigation called Goodell’s statements (similar to those made during Wednesday’s hearing) on the matter false, calling for full transparency from the league. Rachel Engleson, a former employee of the franchise, tweeted on Oct. 26 that, “We were told our identities would be kept confidential in a written report. Meaning, if I spoke about something that happened to me, there would be no way Dan or others could trace the info back to me. Not that there would be no written report.”

Attorney Lisa Banks, who represents 40 former Commanders employees who participated in the investigation, also called Goodell’s statement false.

In July 2021, Snyder agreed to temporarily cede control of the team to his wife, Tanya, in wake of widespread controversy surrounding the franchise. The announcement came after the league partially released its findings from a workplace misconduct probe, levying a $10 million fine against the team.

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Madeline Coleman
MADELINE COLEMAN

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