Commissioner Roger Goodell will be asked plenty of questions on Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee regarding the investigation of the Washington Commanders and the handling of the results of that investigation by the league. Tuesday’s report from the Washington Post lays the foundation for a specific line of questioning that Goodell undoubtedly will face.
With details of a 2009 incident involving a former team employee and owner Daniel Snyder coming to light for the first time, will Mary Jo White be asked to investigate that matter more fully in her ongoing investigation of Snyder and the Commanders?
White was appointed to conduct a supplemental investigation after former Commanders employee Tiffani Johnston told Congress in February about an alleged incident with Snyder. On Tuesday night, Megan Imbert pointed to a past statement from attorney Lisa Banks regarding the breadth of White’s investigation.
“I hope and expect that Mary Jo White will include in her investigation the facts underlying the 2009 settlement,” Banks said. “Such information would be directly relevant to the allegations of my client, therefore squarely within the scope of Ms. White’s investigation.”
It’s unclear whether and to what extent the 2009 allegations were fully explored by attorney Beth Wilkinson during her 10-month investigation. Her effort to get to the facts sparked litigation aimed at preserving the confidentiality agreement signed in connection with a reported $1.6 million settlement. Because Wilkinson wasn’t asked to give the league a written report, there’s no way of knowing whether the 2009 incident became part of the basis for the conclusions reached by Goodell.
On Wednesday, the moment will arrive for him to face specific and direct questions about that incident. And perhaps to be pressed to ask Wilkinson to retrieve from her file the report that she undoubtedly prepared and submit it to the league, with the understanding that it will be treated the same way that multiple other reports were handled by the NFL when involving alleged misconduct of players -- fully and completely and transparently released for public inspection and scrutiny and whatever consequences may be appropriate.
