An attorney for Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday stating that Snyder intends to testify virtually before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on July 28, but that there is no basis to subpoena Snyder's testimony.
Karen Patton Seymour's letter follows Tuesday's announcement from Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., that the committee had accepted Snyder's offer to testify. Maloney, however, wrote that the committee intended to carry out the initial subpoena "to ensure that Mr. Snyder's testimony will be full and complete and will not be restricted in the way it would be if the deposition were conducted voluntarily."
Seymour responded on Wednesday that "there is no valid basis to issue a subpoena."
"The Committee's proffered justification -- that Mr. Snyder would otherwise invoke non-disclosure agreements 'to withhold information from the Committee' -- is baseless," Seymour wrote. "Mr. Snyder is not subject to any NDA that conditions his ability to share information solely on receipt of a subpoena.
"We are confident that Mr. Snyder will able to provide full and complete testimony during his voluntary appearance – a view the Committee apparently shared, despite the proffered justification in the July 12 letter, since the Committee invited him to testify voluntarily at a hearing held just three weeks ago."
Seymour's letter stated that Snyder intends to testify via a videoconference while he is in Israel attending events memorializing the first anniversary of his mother's death.
Snyder declined on two different occasions last month to appear when first invited along with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who testified virtually before the committee on June 22, with prior obligations, international travel and concerns about due process given among the reasons Snyder would not testify.
Congress launched an investigation into the Commanders' workplace culture last year after the league did not release a report of its independent review into the organization, which prompted a $10 million fine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
