The investigation surrounding the Washington Commanders turned uglier on Wednesday as a law firm representing the team sent a nine-page, aggressive letter to the congressional committee that has been looking into allegations of the team has a toxic workplace culture.
In the letter, which was obtained by The Washington Post, attorneys claimed that the investigation has been “a politically inspired hatchet job” designed to take down team owner Dan Snyder.
The letter claimed that the investigation “reeks of the lowest form of politics.”
It was sent to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform and was signed by Tom Davis, a partner at the firm Holland & Knight. Davis is a former Republican member of Congress from Virginia.
“The investigation of the Washington Commanders has not been fair, thorough, or bipartisan, and it certainly hasn’t sought the truth,” Davis wrote. “From the beginning, the committee set out with a singular purpose — to destroy Dan Snyder and his family.”
Davis claimed that the committee “has shown little interest in the current state of the team’s workplace,” and that lawmakers have relied on testimony from “the same people who were responsible for the toxic workplace culture.”
Specifically, Davis singled out the team’s former president Bruce Allen who spoke to the committee last month.
“The fraternity-house culture that Mr. Allen instilled in the Commanders organization is the principal reason that the Commanders came under investigation in the first place,” Davis wrote.
A spokesperson for the committee responded, saying that the goal of the investigation is to “uncover the truth” and to ensure that the team’s employees “are protected from abuse and harassment.”
The committee launched its investigation last year after the NFL fined Washington $10 million following a review of workplace misconduct including accusations of pervasive sexual harassment by team executives of female employees.
Snyder testified before the committee in July, speaking for more than 10 hours in a deposition conducted virtually and in private.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.