Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has agreed to be a witness in front of the House Oversight Committee, virtually, according to a statement issued by his lawyer. Snyder is expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee who wants Snyder to provide evidence about allegations of a hostile work environment within his Commanders team.
After he resisted a hearing on June 22, Snyder is now preparing to testify on the 28th of July. However his attorney, Karen Seymour, says she hasn't heard of the matter since the 30th of June.
“In an effort to accommodate the Committee's interest in speaking to him promptly, however, I informed the Committee's staff that, on the assumption that our due process concerns could be resolved, Mr. Snyder could make himself available for a voluntary appearance by Zoom on July 28 or 29 – notwithstanding that he would still be in Israel with his family at that time – and that I would travel to Israel to represent him.”
A portion of the letter Seymour wrote to the Oversight Committee reads:
“As I hope you can understand, I am concerned that the way the Committee staff has proceeded — including inaccurate public statements accusing Mr. Snyder of attempting to ‘evade' an appearance and ‘seek[ing] special treatment' is not only unfair, but will detract from Mr. Snyder and his family's ability to focus on the solemn rituals associated with the observance of his mother's first Yahrzeit, for which they have spent many months preparing.”
The issue has been an ongoing debate, and the committee has requested Snyder to testify since the beginning of October. The lawyer claimed that due to scheduling conflicts, he's not been able to give evidence. As per Seymour, Snyder will be in Israel for “much of July” due to the anniversary of his mother's passing.
On June 1, the chairperson of the committee Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), was able to tell Seymour in the same way, when she repeatedly refused to accept the invitation to Snyder to testify. She also stated that she was going to issue a subpoena requiring Synder to be interrogated by Congressional investigators.
The Oversight Committee released a statement on Thursday.
“We remain determined to obtain Snyder's testimony about the toxic workplace environment within the Washington Commanders, following his inability to appear during the hearing of the Committee and his persistent refusal to let his attorney accept a subpoena's service. We continue to work with his attorney in order to ensure that the Committee is able to obtain the complete and comprehensive testimony we require and are studying her most recent correspondence.”
The Commanders begin their training camp on the 27th of July and their first preseason game will be scheduled for the 13th of August.
