Attorneys representing former Washington Commanders employees blasted incoming House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) for including “sexualized and salacious photographs of former cheerleaders” in a GOP memo responding to the panel’s report on workplace misconduct and team owner Dan Snyder’s role in it.
“Our clients are both humiliated and incensed by the GOP’s reckless dissemination of these photographs in an official Congressional document,” attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks wrote in a letter, asking the committee Republicans to take various measures to erase the images.
“They also feel retaliated against by Republican Committee members who have apparently chosen to embarrass them publicly for coming forward. There was simply no legitimate reason for GOP members to have done this, and it has caused our clients additional and unnecessary pain,” the attorneys wrote.
Katz and Banks, who represent about 40 former employees, said the images were apparently leaked by Snyder to push his narrative that former team President Bruce Allen “was responsible for the sexually hostile and misogynistic team culture” — a narrative that the GOP memo embraced.
“Our clients believe that releasing these photos was a desperate effort to protect Mr. Snyder from the scathing findings contained in the Committee’s final report, at their expense,” the attorneys added.
The memo — which did not appear to be available on the committee’s website Tuesday — included images of scantily clad and partly naked women with their faces and private parts blacked out.
The lawyers demanded Comer remove the images from congressional servers, websites and the congressional record, adding, “Our clients also want assurances these photographs will never be used in such a manner again.”
An aide to the panel’s Republicans did not respond to those requests in a statement to The Hill.
“From the start, Democrats cherry-picked facts to support their fabricated narrative rather than conduct a fulsome investigation. Republicans issued an internal memo that included information showing that there is more evidence to be considered,” the aide said.
“Prior to circulating the internal memo, Committee staff took steps to ensure all sensitive images involving cheerleaders were redacted and their identities kept confidential,” the aide said.
The committee’s Democrats issued a report last week accusing Snyder of obstructing the investigation into the team by giving misleading responses during his deposition and evading questions, saying “over 100 times” that he couldn’t recall basic information about his role as owner.
The committee also said in its 79-page report that Snyder intimidated witnesses involved in its probe, accusing the owner of sending private investigators to the residences of former employees in an effort to stop them from talking.
The lawyers for former employees said the GOP memo continued the intimidation of those individuals who spoke out about the Commanders workplace, including claims of sexual harassment and financial misconduct.
“Rather than show consideration to the many women who came forward to the Committee to share their experiences of objectification and sexual exploitation while employed by the team, Republican members of the Committee chose to subject them to more of the same,” the statement said.
Comer and his GOP colleagues have repeatedly argued that the House Oversight and Reform Committee should be focused on issues involving government waste and malfeasance and accused Democrats of leading a “sham investigation” into the organization.
Snyder and his wife, team co-owner Tanya Snyder, announced last month that they have hired Bank of America to explore a potential sale of their NFL franchise.