An empty chair intended for “Mr. Snyder “met with members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee at Wednesday’s hearing on Washington Governors’ hostile culture in the workplace, and President Carolyn B. Maloney (DN.Y.) briefly clarified the symbolism, announcing plans for summons owner Daniel Snyder to testify under oath next week. “Instead of appearing and taking responsibility for his actions, he chose to leave the city,” Maloney said during the hearing, noting that Snyder’s yacht was in France, with the owner likely boarding rather than Capitol Hill. . “This should tell you how much respect he has for women in the workplace.” With Snyder absent, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asked questions for 2½2 hours about understanding the allegations of widespread sexual harassment in Snyder’s team’s workplace and the league’s response to them. Asked what he had learned about the Governors’ environment, Goodell testified from a distance from New York that he had not seen a culture as bad as Washington’s during his four decades in the NFL. However, Goodell remained firm in his refusal to make public the findings of a Commanders investigation conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson, reiterating that the NFL had promised confidentiality to 150 former employees who described episodes of sexual harassment and humiliation. Daniel Snyder conducted a “shadow investigation” of the accusers, the commission finds Several members of the committee considered Goodell’s reasoning unsatisfactory. “This is fake,” spokesman Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) Told Goodell. “Your survivors have been asked to make the report public.” Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) Later asked Goodell why the names of those who testified but requested anonymity could not be deleted. Ruskin noted that this is how the NFL handled privacy issues by publishing a 148-page report on harassment of the Miami Dolphins in 2014. “The cover does not always work in my world,” Goodell replied. Goodell said the NFL had properly disciplined Snyder as a result of his investigation, noting the $ 10 million fine imposed on the team as well as Snyder’s dismissal from day-to-day affairs. Goodell also praised the organization’s transformation in the wake of the allegations. “To be clear,” said Goodell, whose face was displayed on oversized screens in the Capitol auditorium. “The workplace at Commanders today bears no resemblance to the workplace described on this committee.” Spokesman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) Asked Goodell if Snyder or the team had informed the league of a sexual assault allegation against Snyder in 2009 that resulted in a $ 1.6 million settlement with a former employee. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday details of an employee claiming that Snyder had sexually assaulted her during a flight on his private jet in April 2009, three months before the team agreed to pay the confidentiality arrangement. In a 2020 court hearing, Snyder called the woman’s allegations “unworthy.” Goodell said, “I do not remember informing him [the league] from that, no. “ The hybrid process, with some lawmakers in the courtroom and others involved at a distance, was marked by sharpness, intense partisanship and periodic disobedience, with Maloney repeatedly hitting its hammer in a futile attempt to silence Byron’s spokesman. (R -Fla.), Who repeatedly asked, “What is the purpose of this hearing?” As Maloney tried to move on, Donalds said, “You can hit the hammer whatever you want, but I really do not care.” Exclusive: Document reveals details of alleged sexual assault in 2009 against Daniel Snyder In Maloney’s view, the value of research is twofold: to highlight one of the nation’s most prominent workplaces (the Washington NFL) as an example of how its executives should not treat employees and create legislation to protect all working Americans from similar abuse. . “For more than two decades, Dan Snyder has refused to protect the women who worked for him from the toxic culture he created,” Maloney said in an opening statement. “The NFL also failed to protect these women. “Now I believe it is up to Congress to protect millions of others like them.” But for lawmaker James Comer (R-Ky.), A member of the minority party on the committee, and many of his Republican colleagues, the investigation represents a waste of taxpayers’ money and committee time. “Let us hear and watch the crises that afflict Americans today: 40 years of high inflation, soaring gas prices, no formula baby stocks, a raging border crisis, rising doses of fentanyl and our money supply.” said Comer. . Representative Virginia Foxx (RN.C.) echoed Comer’s comment. “As we sit here today, families are wondering how to pay for gas, groceries and how to find formula for their babies,” Fox said, calling the Governors ‘case “the last thing on Americans’ minds.” Spokeswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (DN.Y.) summoned the owner of the Washington Commanders during a June 22 hearing to investigate the group’s “toxic” workplace. (Video: Reuters, Photo: Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post / Reuters) Wednesday’s hearing represented the next step in an eight-month investigation prompted by the NFL’s refusal to reveal details of Wilkinson’s findings. The panel was preceded by the release of some 700 pages of documents related to its work – testimonies, transcripts of interviews and a 29-page summary that set out how Schneider, through a team of lawyers and private investigators, conducted a “shadow investigation”. »In an attempt to discredit his accusers and divert responsibility for uncontrollable misconduct in the team’s workplace. Central to this “shadow investigation,” according to the commission, was the creation of a 100-slide “dossier” targeting former employers, their lawyers and Washington Post journalists whom Snyder perceived as enemies. The panel also found that Snyder was directing an attempt to find derogatory information about former team president Bruce Allen that he could use to convince the NFL and Wilkinson that Allen, not Snyder, was responsible for her toxic culture. team. Snyder fired Allen after 10 years in December 2019. To that end, lawyers working for Snyder combed more than 400,000 emails into Allen’s inactive account, looking for anything “inappropriate,” and then shared that information with the NFL and Wilkinson. He also booked private investigators to visit the former cheerleader’s home and ask if they knew of any “sexual misconduct” involving Allen. Since the first report of unbridled sexual harassment within the group in July 2020, Snyder has portrayed himself as the victim of an orchestrated conspiracy to discredit and blackmail him. He also said that his only failure as the owner of the NFL was that he was “very comfortable”, adding that as soon as he realized the problems, he fired all the bad actors. Maloney closed the hearing with a message for Snyder. “We will not be discouraged by billionaire landlords and political attitudes,” he said. “Victims demand answers and we all demand justice.” The committee then said they would move quickly to secure Snyder’s testimony and that he would face swift punishment if he refused. “Throwing your nose in Congress is not a good strategy,” said Krishnamurthi, who helped conduct the investigation. Snyder twice refused the commission’s invitation to testify, saying through his lawyer that he had a “long-running business dispute” abroad on Wednesday and had additional concerns about due process and justice. He said that before agreeing to appear before the committee, he wanted a guarantee that all questions would be limited to the “historical culture” of the group. He also asked, through his lawyer, the identities of everyone who spoke to the committee about himself or the team and the substance of the interviews. Speyer predicted that Snyder would refuse to testify and Parliament would vote in his favor to despise Congress. “He is arrogant enough that he will probably be despised,” Speyer said. “That’s my guess.” Nicki Jhabvala contributed to this report.
