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.
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.
Continuing, the complaint notes that Mr. Passantino suffered real harm to his legal career, which spanned three decades, as a result of the January 6th Committee kangaroo court, forcing him to take a leave of absence. “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 says.
Passantino isn’t the only one on the right suing the committee. Former President Trump sued as well in November of 2022, as the AP reported, saying:
The suit filed Friday evening contends that, while former presidents have voluntarily agreed to provide testimony or documents in response to congressional subpoenas in the past, “no president or former president has ever been compelled to do so.”
“Long-held precedent and practice maintain that separation of powers prohibits Congress from compelling a President to testify before it,” Trump attorney David A. Warrington said in a statement announcing Trump’s intentions.
Warrington said Trump had engaged with the committee “in a good faith effort to resolve these concerns consistent with Executive Branch prerogatives and separation of powers,” but said the panel “insists on pursuing a political path, leaving President Trump with no choice but to involve the third branch, the judicial branch, in this dispute between the executive and legislative branches.”
"*" indicates required fields
