NFL Announces Independent Investigation Into Handling of Ray Rice Case

The league released a statement Wednesday night that former FBI Director Robert Mueller will conduct an independent investigation into how the league office pursued and handled evidence in the domestic violence case of former Raven’s running back Ray Rice. Below is the full statement by the league:

“Former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III will conduct an independent investigation into the NFL’s pursuit and handling of evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence incident, Commissioner Roger Goodell announced tonight. Director Mueller’s investigation will be overseen by NFL owners John Mara of the New York Giants and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the final report will be made public.

“Mara and Rooney are both attorneys. Commissioner Goodell pledged that Director Mueller will have the full cooperation of NFL personnel and access to all NFL records. Mueller served as director of the FBI for 12 years (2001-2013) under two presidents. He is currently a partner in the law firm of WilmerHale and is based in Washington, DC.”

The announcement of the investigation came hours after an Associated Press report in which a law enforcement official said he sent the video in which Rice punched then-fiancee Janay Palmer in a Atlantic City casino elevator to an NFL executive in April. According to the report, the law enforcement source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, played a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9, with a female voice expressing thanks and saying “You’re right. It’s terrible” in reference to the video that was posted on TMZ on Monday.

Immediately following the Associated Press report, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has “no knowledge of this,” and that they are “not aware of anyone” in the league office that possessed or saw the video before it was released online. McCarthy said that the league “will look into it”.

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Roger Goodell said the league “assumed” there was an elevator video, and “asked” for it.

“But we were never granted that opportunity,” Goodell said.

The commissioner also said in the interview that “no one in the NFL” to his knowledge saw the video until it was posted online.

Update 3:50pm:

John Mara and Art Rooney released a joint statement (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter):

Commissioner Goodell called us on Wednesday evening and requested that we oversee the independent investigation that will be conducted by former FBI Director Robert Mueller III. Our role is not to conduct or direct the investigation but to support Mr. Mueller and assist him in gaining whatever access or resources he needs. At the conclusion of Mr. Mueller’s investigation, we will receive his findings on behalf of the League’s owners.

We have spoken with Mr. Mueller today, and he has informed us he is prepared to begin immediately. No timeline was established and we stressed that he should take as much time as necessary to complete a thorough investigation. We agreed that the scope of the investigation should be aimed at getting answers to specific questions, including what efforts were made by league staff to obtain the video of what took place inside the elevator and to determine whether, in fact, the video was ever delivered to someone at the league office, and if so, what happened to the video after it was delivered.

Mr. Mueller assured us that his investigation will be thorough and independent, and that he will keep us informed of his progress. We asked Mr. Mueller to report his conclusions to us to be shared with NFL Owners, and we agreed that his final report will be shared with the public.

Our sole motive here is to get the truth and then share Mr. Mueller’s findings with the public.

Update September 25, 9:45 p.m:

The Associated Press’ Rob Maadi reported Thursday evening that a law enforcement official sent the video in which Ray Rice punched his then-fiancee Janay Palmer to NFL headquarters “to the attention of league security chief Jeffrey Miller in April”:

The NFL has repeatedly said no one with the league saw the violent images until TMZ Sports released the video earlier this month. Miller said Thursday through an NFL spokesman that he never received the video.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release details of the case, said he doesn’t know if Miller ever saw the DVD or opened the package. His only communication with the NFL was a 12-second voicemail on April 9 from league offices confirming receipt of the package, in which a woman says, “You’re right. It’s terrible.”

The official told the AP two weeks ago that he sent the video to the NFL, but asked the AP not to report that he had addressed the package to Miller. He eliminated that restriction Thursday.

“Since the NFLPA and NFL have launched separate investigations into the league and the Ravens’ handling of Ray Rice’s case, I want to make a few things clear. No one from the NFL ever asked me for the inside-elevator video,” the official said Thursday. “I mailed it anonymously to Jeff Miller because he’s their head of security. I attached a note saying: `Ray Rice elevator video. You have to see it. It’s terrible.’ I provided a number for a disposable cellphone and asked for confirmation that it was received. I knew there was a possibility Mr. Miller may not get the video, but I hoped it would land in the right hands.”

Miller, in London preparing for the Raiders-Dolphins game Sunday, issued a statement to the AP Thursday night through an NFL spokesman.

“I unequivocally deny that I received at any time a copy of the video, and I had not watched it until it was made public on September 8,” he said.