A former lawyer who represented the now-disgraced, ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson in the kangaroo court January 6th hearings has turned around to sue the panel, which included former RINO representatives Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, for “destroying” both his reputation and career.
Stefan Passantino is a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who filed a $67 million Federal Tort Claims Act Complaint and cited several factors for the suit, including the congressional body’s spreading of a “false narrative” and desire “to further a political agenda” against former President Donald Trump, all while impugning his own character in the process.
“Liz Cheney and her collaborators on the January 6th Committee decided to peddle a false tale about Mr. Passantino and his relationship with his client without any regard for the truth or whether they were destroying the reputation of a good man; a reputation built over decades,” Passantino’s attorney, Jesse Binnall, said in a statement.
As the suit outlines, Passantino was Hutchinson’s original counsel before he learned that the committee was backchanneling communication to his client – all without his knowledge. In addition to the previously mentioned claims, the D.C. lawyer also asserts that this violated the very special and protected attorney-client privilege.
“The Committee, through a backchannel directly to Mr. Passantino’s client, in total disregard for the attorney-client relationship, convinced Mr. Passantino’s client to sit for additional interviews and give incredible testimony that could then be peddled by national news media friendly to the Committee to damage Mr. Passantino,” the complaint states.
Hutchinson would go on to make wild claims about the former president’s role in the events of January 6th – including trying to commander “The Beast” from the secluded back seat and drive it to the Capitol – once she had found new legal representation. The committee held the former aide to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as a star witness.
Passantino claims he never knew about the explosive testimony Hutchinson would eventually provide, all of which was later debunked by additional witnesses, and her fifteen minutes of fame was soon up.
Still, his name was now attached to her, and after she spoke up during the hearings, the advice he had given her about remaining quiet or suggesting she simply say she did not have many recollections of the event were portrayed as an effort from a lawyer funded by a Trump PAC to downplay any possible anti-Trump testimony from being shared.
As a result of the conflicting legal advice, Passantino soon found himself on the receiving end of harsh backlash, despite offering sincere legal counsel.
“I believed Ms. Hutchinson was being truthful and cooperative with the Committee throughout the several interview sessions in which I represented her,” he previously said to CNN, alluding to the stark contrast in how she would eventually represent herself to the public.
Newsmax noted that the sudden negative media exposure, all of which he claims was unwarranted, eventually resulted in a damaged career, writing:
But the complaint states that the negative media coverage tarnished Passantino’s 30-year legal career.
He was forced to take a leave of absence from his private law firm and is facing multiple bar complaints.
“This is all a result of the Committee’s unjustifiable, outrageous, and malicious leaks of private information and interference in Mr. Passantino’s representation of his clients,” the complaint states.
Featured image: United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
"*" indicates required fields