The D.C. and Virginia attorneys general have both opened separate investigations into the Washington Commanders, marking another legal tangle for the franchise as it faces an ongoing congressional inquiry. 

In a letter to the franchise on Monday, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that his office will launch an official inquiry into allegations of financial impropriety under owner Dan Synder’s leadership — allegations first brought to light by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s probe into the franchise. Last month, a report revealed that in addition to investigating toxic workplace allegations and the NFL’s handling of those allegations, the congressional committee was also investigating allegations of financial impropriety made by Jason Friedman, a former vice president of ticketing. During his testimony before the House committee, Friedmen reportedly accused the team of withholding a portion of its ticket sales that, under NFL policy, must be deposited into a league fund and split equally among all 32 teams. (The Commanders have categorically denied these allegations).

“To be clear, I have not prejudged the issues raised regarding the Commanders,” Miyares wrote in the letter, which was obtained by DCist/WAMU. “I view it as my responsibility to carefully examine the material facts regarding this matter after it was brought to my attention.”

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced this week that his office has also been conducting its own investigation into the franchise since last fall. (The congressional committee began its probe last October). In an emailed statement to DCist/WAMU, a spokesperson for Racine wrote that the investigation is related to “allegations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, the the team’s cooperation with, and statements about, the investigation into these allegations, and more recently, the team’s ticket sales practices.” According to the spokesperson, Racine’s office has obtained more than 500,000 documents from the Commanders and the NFL thus far.

“The disturbing details of misconduct by the Washington Commanders and Dan Snyder that we’ve seen in extensive public reporting are deeply troubling,” Racine said in a statement. “No one should face mistreatment at work and no organization can evade the law. The Commanders’ players and employees, and District residents, deserve a thorough investigation that determines exactly what happened and holds those accountable for any illegal conduct.”

Asked about the attorneys’ general investigation, a spokesperson for the Commanders reaffirmed that the team denies any allegations of financial impropriety.

“The team categorically denies any suggestion of financial impropriety of any kind at any time,” reads the statement. “We adhere to strict internal processes that are consistent with industry and accounting standards, are audited annually by a globally respected independent auditing firm, and are also subject to regular audits by the NFL. We continue to cooperate fully with the Committee’s work.”

The two attorney general offices are the latest in a long list of officials to have probed the controversy-riddled team. In the summer of 2020, the NFL launched an investigation into the franchise following claims of sexual harassment. The league’s investigation ended with a $10 million fine and an unreleased report. In October 2021, unsatisfied with the NFL’s handling of the allegations, Congress then opened its own inquiry into the team. (Meanwhile, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration was investigating the Commanders — then called the Washington Football Team — director of sports medicine and top athletic trainer, Ryan Vermillion, for potentially distributing prescription drugs.) Most recently, in February 2022, new allegations of sexual harassment against owner Dan Snyder emerged through congressional testimony. The NFL has since opened a second probe into the new allegations, and Snyder has hired a private firm to investigate the allegations against him.

Amid the laundry list of allegations and subsequent investigations, the team managed to rebrand this February, adopting the Commanders name after 18 months with the placeholder “Washington Football Team.” But as the Commanders look to build a new stadium in either D.C., Maryland, or Virginia, the new name might be doing little to erase the team’s legacy in the eyes of regional officials.

Maryland, where the team’s current stadium is housed, proposed spending $400 million to keep the team at FedEx Field in Landover, but it stopped short of offering the construction of a new stadium, or investing directly in Dan Snyder or the team. The congressional investigation has also muddied D.C.’s pitch to bring the Commanders into the District. Mayor Muriel Bowser reupped her call for the federally controlled RFK Stadium land in southeast to be turned over to the city earlier this year, and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has reportedly said she wants to introduce legislation that would do so — but the ongoing investigation has made Snyder’s Commanders unpopular among the Congressional Democrats needed to pass the legisation.

Meanwhile, both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly passed versions of bills in February that would create “stadium football authority” to oversee the construction and financing of a new stadium in the commonwealth, but the chambers failed to reconcile the differences between the two bills before the session adjourned in March. While the measures have been carried into the special session, it’s unclear how the more recent allegations of financial impropriety will impact lawmaker’s willingness to bring the team into their state.