Former Commanders president says he realized he was being surveilled by the team when a car was idling in front of his house

• Former Washington Commanders president Bruce Allen told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that the team hired private investigators to follow him.
• Allen said he and his wife noticed a car parked outside their house overnight before he approached the car.

Former Washington Commanders president Bruce Allen testified to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform that he was followed by a private investigator hired by the team.

Allen's comments were released in a report from the Committee that found team owner Daniel Snyder "permitted and participated" in the team's toxic work culture.

Speaking to the Committee, Allen said he and his wife realized they were being followed when a car sat out front of their house overnight.

"My wife was concerned. We live in a — we had just moved into a home. And the street's a real narrow street. It's hard two cars even to go by," Allen said. "And she saw a car out there the night before, and then in the morning it was there and it's running, the engine's running."

Allen said he brought out a cup of coffee, thinking he was going to be subpoenaed when the investigator introduced himself.

"I went out. And the gentleman stepped out of the car and he said, 'Hi, Mr. Allen.' I said, 'Well, that's interesting. You need a cup of coffee? Are you here to serve me with a subpoena or something?' He said, 'No, we're just here to follow you,' and something like 'document your actions.'"

When asked who was responsible for hiring the private investigator, Allen said the investigator said he had been hired by the team.

"The one who followed me told me the Washington Football Team hired him," Allen said.

Allen — who was thrust into the spotlight when his previous email exchanges with former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden were leaked to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times— said he didn't have any other interactions with the investigators, but he said that a neighbor pointed out that a drone had been flying above Allen's house. Allen said they didn't yet have window coverings in the new home, so it was possible to see inside.

Allen also said that he had heard of other former employees of the team, who had been followed by private investigators.

Allen's deposition took place on September 6, 2022.

ESPN reported on October 13 that team owner Daniel Snyder frequently speaks about having private investigators follow other team owners, league executives, and even Commissioner Roger Goodell to get "dirt" on them.

During his deposition, Allen said Snyder had said he would have Goodell "followed," though Allen didn't know if Snyder ever went through with it.

Snyder admitted to using private investigators during his deposition with the committee, but said he couldn't remember any specifics of who was followed.

In a statement, John Brownlee and Stuart Nash, Counsel for the Washington Commanders, blasted the Congressional committee, saying, "they were not interested in the truth, and were only interested in chasing headlines by pursuing one side of the story."

The full statement reads:

"These Congressional investigators demonstrated, almost immediately, that they were not interested in the truth, and were only interested in chasing headlines by pursuing one side of the story. Today's report is the predictable culmination of that one-sided approach.

"There are no new revelations here. The Committee persists in criticizing Mr. Snyder for declining to voluntarily appear at the Committee's hearing last spring, notwithstanding Mr. Snyder's agreement to sit, at a date chosen by the Committee, for an unprecedented 11-hours of questioning under oath. The only two members of Congress who witnessed any part of that deposition, one Democrat and one Republican, both made public statements in the wake of the deposition characterizing Mr. Snyder's answers as truthful, cooperative, and candid. As is typical of the Committee, they have refused, despite our repeated requests to release the full transcript of Mr. Snyder's deposition.

"The Committee suggests that Mr. Snyder prevented witnesses from coming forward yet does not identify a single witness who did not come forward or who suffered a single adverse consequence for having done so.

"And, ironically for an "investigative" body, supposedly engaged in an "investigation," the investigators actually criticize the team and Mr. Snyder for providing evidence to the Committee -- such as e-mails former team employees sent from their workplace accounts -- that reveal the actual causes of the formerly dysfunctional workplace environment at the team.

"Today's report does not advance public knowledge of the Washington Commanders workplace in any way. The team is proud of the progress it has made in recent years in establishing a welcoming and inclusive workplace, and it looks forward to future success, both on and off the field."

The NFL is currently continuing a second investigation of the workplace culture of the Commanders.