Snyder is expected to receive a subpoena soon to give an affidavit before the committee next week, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (DNY), chair of the committee.
The congressional committee’s affidavits shall be made privately, in the presence of attorneys from both sides of the committee, as well as the impeached person and their attorneys. The interview is fully written; It may also be videotaped. It is up to the committee to decide whether to publish the text and/or the videotape.
With the commission this week releasing more than 700 pages of documents relating to its investigation, including the full texts of sworn affidavits by former executive leaders Brian Lavimina and Dave Bowkin, it appears certain that the commission will publish Snyder’s testimony as well.
Out of compliance, Snyder has a few evasive moves left.
Like all Americans, Snyder has the constitutional right to assert protection under the Fifth Amendment for refusing to answer questions, invoking his right not to incriminate himself. But that privilege isn’t available just because someone might object to potential questions, according to David Rapallo, a Georgetown University law professor and former director of the House Oversight Committee’s task force.
“If he wants to take fifth, he has every right to do so, although he has not indicated that he plans to do so,” Rapallo said on Thursday. “Others have done it.”
Snyder can also try to negotiate the details of the deposit, such as the timing.
In general, lawmakers said, Rapallo is trying to accommodate reasonable requests. But in this case, having refused to appear twice voluntarily, Snyder’s reasons may have run out.
The first reason cited by his lawyer – that he had a conflict with the date of the June 22 hearing – has now been addressed after Maloney has given notice that his testimony will be next week.
The other reason cited by Snyder’s attorney – his desire to obtain advance copies of the documents on which the interrogation will be based – also appears to be disputed now that the commission has published the documents on its website. Moreover, Snyder may have run out of goodwill from Democratic leaders on the committee who want to question him about his role in both the long history of workplace complaints and, more recently, in trying to obstruct the NFL’s investigation through what the committee called a “shadow An investigation to intimidate and silence former employees.
Maloney noted just as much in announcing plans to issue the subpoena, saying that it was clear Snyder was “more interested in protecting himself than speaking to the American public.”
Maloney took the step after asking Goodell what the NFL intended to do to hold Snyder accountable for his refusal to testify before Congress.
“Madam President, I take no responsibility for whether he will appear before Congress,” Goodell said. “This is not my choice. This is his choice.”
Asked afterwards about Snyder’s refusal to appear, Representative Jimmy Raskin (D-MD) said: “We live in a time when people feel above the law. Unfortunately, that sense of impunity and arrogance is a kind of social contagion these days.” .
Raskin noted that the vast majority of people summoned to appear before the Jan. 6 select committee, which he also serves, had come forward and cooperated, although nearly a dozen did not.
“Perhaps Dan Snyder is taking his cues from those who think they are in some way above the people’s representatives in Congress,” Raskin said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamurthy (D-Illinois) said, “Insulting Congress with your nose is not a good strategy.”
In Rapallo’s view, if Snyder flatly refused to comply with Maloney’s subpoena, “it would be a very dangerous move.”
The committee will then have some options.
Congress can despise him. Rapallo said the commission could also expand its scope and invite other people around Snyder for testimony and hearing: his aides, his deputies, and others who may have information.
“It’s a tactical question, but if he had attended the hearing, he would have testified for a few hours,” Rapallo said. “Now he is facing his testimony, which usually lasts much longer, is being made by the commission’s advisers, and will be under a subpoena. Until then, it is certainly possible that the commission could ask him for a hearing after the affidavit. So, for witnesses who are facing this Under the kind of circumstances, they often conclude that it is in their best interest to cooperate and go to the hearing.”
No NFL rules specifically require Snyder to comply with a congressional subpoena or penalize him for noncompliance. The NFL declined to comment Thursday beyond Goodell’s response to Maloney’s questioning of the issue during his hearing.
A Royal Leaders spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Finally, Snyder could simply stall by prolonging negotiations and appealing any subsequent court order in an effort to run out the clock until the November midterm elections, hoping that Republicans would take control of the House.
If that happens, Maloney will be replaced as chair of the House Oversight Committee, possibly by James Comer (R-Kentucky), who has consistently ridiculed the investigation into leaders’ workplaces as a waste of lawmakers’ time and taxpayers’ money.
“Come in January, if Republicans get the House back, Oversight Republicans have no intention of continuing to investigate Washington’s leaders and will return the committee to its primary task of eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government,” Austin Hacker said. Republican Committee Thursday.
Paul Kane and Nikki Japvala contributed to this report.
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