Dan Snyder, the owner of Washington Leaders, declined the call to testify at a congressional hearing on June 22

ASHBURN, Virginia – Dan Snyder, the owner of one of the Washington leaders, told the House Oversight Committee in a letter that he will not testify at the June 22 hearing, saying he will be out of the country.

It had long been expected that Snyder would refuse to testify. In the four-page letter, attorney Karen Patton Seymour said Snyder was willing to testify but that the committee was “not willing to consider a change of hearing date.”

The letter stated that Snyder had a “protracted business dispute involving the leaders and is out of the country on the first and only date proposed by the committee for the hearing.”

According to a committee spokesperson, “The Committee intends to proceed with this hearing. We are currently reviewing Mr. Snyder’s letter and will respond.”

Congress began investigating workplace culture in Snyder and Washington under his leadership in October. It also investigated allegations of sexual misconduct by Snyder, a charge made by former employee Tiffany Johnston at a panel roundtable before the committee.

On June 1, the House Oversight Committee invited Snyder and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to testify at the June 22 hearing. It is uncertain whether Gödel will testify. The committee can still choose to change the date of the hearing, as it sometimes happens in less well-known situations. It can also issue a subpoena to Snyder.

“We, along with our clients, are disappointed but not surprised that Dan Snyder does not have the courage to appear voluntarily. We fully expect the panel to issue a subpoena,” attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent at least 40 former employees of the Leaders, said in a statement. To force Mr. Snyder to appear. It is time for Mr. Snyder to know that he is not above the law.”

According to the letter, Snyder’s lawyers responded five days later by asking the commission to provide more information about the scope of the investigation. He also stated that the committee would not guarantee that questions to Snyder would be limited to the organization’s historical workplace issues.

Nor will the committee agree to provide copies of documents “that members of the committee intend to question Mr. Snyder about,” which Seymour described in the letter as a courtesy “I understand that it often extends to witnesses in congressional hearings.”

The letter also said that Snyder’s attorneys requested “basic information” about Johnston’s allegations – “such as when and where it supposedly happened, and who was also present.” According to the letter, the commission refused to release the information. Snyder has denied the charges.

The NFL also appointed attorney Mary Jo White to investigate Johnston’s allegations. The Washington League was fined $10 million on July 1, 2021, as a result of its investigations into workplace culture under Snyder.

The attorney general of Virginia and Washington, DC, is investigating allegations of financial wrongdoing by a former employee. The team responded with a 105-page letter with signed affidavits refuting the charges.