Stefan Passantino, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who represented former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson during her appearance before the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, is now suing the committee for "destroying" his reputation and career.
Passantino filed a $67 million Federal Tort Claims Act Complaint against the congressional panel, claiming the group "manufactured and promoted a false narrative" about him, "maliciously interfered in the attorney-client relationship," and disregarded his civil rights "to further a political agenda" against former President Donald Trump.
"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.
According to the complaint, the committee allegedly engaged in backchannel communications with Hutchinson without Passantino's consent, which not only breached the attorney-client relationship, but served to generate a "false narrative" that was then peddled to news organizations by a lawmaker or congressional staffer acting "outside of the scope of their legislative function."
Hutchinson — who served as an assistant to Mark Meadows during his time as Trump's final White House chief of staff — swiftly became the Jan. 6 Committee's star witness after testifying that Trump allegedly tried to violently hijack the presidential limousine to drive himself to the election protests.
A slew of her claims, which stemmed from third-party conversations, swiftly were contradicted when her sources went on the record to refute her version of events.
In the days before Hutchinson offered her shocking public testimony, she had a change in legal counsel.
Before she appeared at the televised hearing, it was Passantino, a former White House deputy counsel, who had been guiding her through the process, which ultimately included a trio of closed-door depositions before the committee.
The complaint states that Hutchinson started coordinating with members of the Jan. 6 Committee without Passantino's knowledge after the second interview.
"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.
That description appears to allude to articles such as one CNN published in December titled "Cassidy Hutchinson told the January 6 committee she felt pressure from Trump allies not to talk and instead risk 'contempt.'"
The story, which is based on transcripts of Hutchinson's follow-up conversation with the committee in September, claims that Hutchinson felt she had "no other option" but to retain Passantino as her lawyer because she couldn't afford to pay the fees other attorneys were quoting her.
Passantino says he was not informed about the September meeting between the committee and Hutchinson.
Hutchinson was initially introduced to Passantino when she sought help financing legal representation from Trump's political action committee, the Save America PAC, after receiving her first subpoena from the lower chamber.
After his tenure as White House deputy counsel, Passantino had returned to private practice, representing several witnesses before the Jan. 6 committee, including Hutchinson.
"Ms. Hutchinson never told Passantino that she wanted a 'non-Trump' lawyer or that she had any sensitivity about Mr. Passantino's previous work in the Trump White House," the complaint states. "She did not express reservations to Mr. Passantino about him being paid by a Trump-related PAC; instead, she had solicited that funding herself."
The complaint also notes that Passantino was never contacted by the Jan. 6 committee to be interviewed or respond to the allegations.
CNN reported that Hutchinson claimed that Passantino "repeatedly urged her to downplay her role in the White House and to say she did not recall events."
The article states that Hutchinson alleged that "Passantino and other Trump associates dangled job offers around the time of her first two depositions with the committee, while her lawyer and others told her to remain loyal to Trump and she would be 'taken care of.'"
Hutchinson later testified that "Stefan never told me to lie" and didn't want her to perjure herself.
Passantino told CNN he was ethical when he represented Hutchinson and believed she was truthful during her initial rounds of testimony to the committee.
"I believed Ms. Hutchinson was being truthful and cooperative with the Committee throughout the several interview sessions in which I represented her," he said in a statement to the network.
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.
If Congress doesn't honor Passantino's claim within six months, he can file a lawsuit in federal court.