In a letter, attorney Karen Patton Seymour called “baseless” the committee’s concerns that her client would withhold information if she did not testify under subpoena. On Tuesday, committee chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (DN.Y.) accepted Snyder’s offer to testify on July 28 via conference call, but said in a letter to Seymour that the committee would issue a subpoena and wanted a response from Snyder by today. noon. Although the subpoena was issued, it was not served on Snyder, who remains overseas, multiple sources said. US marshals serve subpoenas on behalf of the commission in the United States, but, according to a spokesman, the Marshals Service “has no authority to serve a congressional subpoena internationally.” Seymour could have accepted the subpoena on Snyder’s behalf, but he didn’t.
1 Related In October, Congress began investigating Snyder and Washington’s workplace culture under his ownership, including allegations of sexual misconduct. About four months ago, the NFL concluded an investigation and fined Washington $10 million. Congress opened its investigation after complaints of a lack of transparency from the NFL in what was learned. Attorney Beth Wilkinson delivered her report orally, leading to the original fine. There is a difference between whether someone testifies voluntarily or under subpoena, according to Dave Rapallo, director of Georgetown University’s Federal Legislative Clinic and the Democratic staff director of the House Oversight and Reform Committee from 2011 to 2021. “If you’re under subpoena, you have to answer the question that was asked,” Rapallo said. “If it’s voluntary and you’re not subpoenaed, you don’t do it.” The committee’s concern also related to non-disclosure agreements. Maloney wrote that “you made clear to Commission staff that a voluntary appearance would preclude matters covered by nondisclosure agreements.” Maloney also argued that Snyder has a “troubled history of using NDAs to cover up workplace misconduct.” Seymour responded by saying that Snyder is not subject to any NDA that “presupposes his ability to share information only upon receipt of a subpoena.” She wrote that Snyder and the Commanders waived NDAs to allow Wilkinson to work as part of her investigation of the NFL. Seymour also pointed out that the commission had invited him to testify voluntarily at a June 22 hearing. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testified at the hearing. But Snyder declined the invitation, saying he had a previous job in France. attended an awards ceremony. “We are confident that Mr. Snyder will be able to provide full and complete testimony at his voluntary appearance,” Seymour wrote. “The July 12 letter also falsely suggests that Mr. Snyder had previously refused to cooperate. Instead, since the Commission first requested that he voluntarily appear to testify at the June 22 hearing, Mr. Snyder has fully committed to cooperating in the commission’s Inquiry.’ Seymour suggested two dates Snyder would be willing to testify: July 28 and July 29, the last two days the House is in session before the August recess. The Commanders begin training camp on July 27. It wasn’t unusual for Snyder to miss the start of camp in recent years. He did not attend last year as his wife, Tanya, took charge of the team’s day-to-day operations following the NFL’s internal investigation into sexual misconduct and workplace culture allegations. At the NFL meetings in March, Goodell said Snyder would not represent the team on a day-to-day basis for the “foreseeable future” and that they would discuss his return “at some point.” According to a league source, that discussion has yet to take place. Seymour told the committee that Snyder was unavailable for most of July because he was in Israel celebrating the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death with many events. ESPN’s Tisha Thompson contributed to this report.
