Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder must OK release of findings from NFL's investigation of team

The NFL cannot publicly release the findings of its internal investigation of the Washington Commanders without the explicit permission of owner Daniel Snyder, according to a document released Friday morning by the congressional committee investigating the NFL.

The House Committee for Oversight and Reform also released a second document Friday that shows how the team requested a «written investigation» from Beth Wilkinson's law firm when she was hired to conduct an internal investigation of the team.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has previously contended the league cannot release the internal investigation because Wilkinson presented her findings orally.

The documents released on Friday were provided by the NFL as part of the league's response to the Congressional investigation into what the committee calls a decades-long toxic work environment under Snyder's tenure.

Five women appeared before Congress on Thursday, detailing their alleged experiences of sexual assault and harassment. Tiffani Johnston, a former marketing and events coordinator for the team, revealed for the first time that Snyder touched her without her consent during a work dinner about 13 years ago. Snyder issued a statement denying her allegations.

The women and multiple members of Congress are demanding the NFL release its report to the public.

During Thursday's roundtable discussion, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) noted that, «The NFL has released reports on Ray Rice, the Carolina Panthers, Deflategate, but nothing, nothing with regard to sexual harassment and Washington.»

In the wake of Johnston's revelations and based on testimony provided by the other women, Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Carol Maloney (D-New York), the chair of the committee,