EXCLUSIVE: Former Cassidy Hutchinson Attorney Sues House Of Representatives Over J6 Smears

Washington D.C. attorney, Stefan Passantino, who represented former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson before the House Select Committee on Jan. 6, filed a Federal Tort Claims Act Complaint against the January 6th Committee. He claims that the panel’s political agenda undermined his legal ethics, leading to a McCarthyistic attack on his career. Passantino alleges that members of the Select Committee co-opted Hutchinson to circumvent him and orchestrate a “defamatory operation” against him, under the guise of witness intimidation during the proceedings.

Hutchinson became the Jan. 6 Committee’s star witness last summer after offering bombshell testimony over White House events as the Capitol riot unfolded. During one televised hearing, Hutchinson claimed that former President Donald Trump attempted to violently hijack the presidential limousine to drive himself to the riot down Pennsylvania Avenue. However, this testimony, which relied entirely on third-party conversations, was immediately contradicted when the sources went on record to refute her claims. Additionally, a series of claims made by Hutchinson in her more than two-hour appearance were contradicted shortly after.

Hutchinson changed legal representation a few days before her public testimony. Passantino was her lawyer until then, and he alleges that Hutchinson began to coordinate with members of the Jan. 6 Committee without his knowledge after the second interview.

CNN reported that Passantino pressured Hutchinson to slant her testimony favorably to Trump. Passantino was blindsided by the testimony, according to the complaint filed against the House of Representatives on Monday, which seeks $67 million in damages. He claims that the Jan. 6 Committee co-opted his client against him and ultimately derailed his tenured legal career for political purposes. He also denies any legal advice provided to Hutchinson could constitute alleged intimidation.

The Jan. 6 Committee never called Passantino in for an interview before the panel published Hutchinson’s transcripts in December naming him as a Trump attorney who allegedly engaged in witness intimidation. Lawmakers, however, ran with the allegation to bolster the credibility of their debunked star witness over the course of the panel’s criminal investigation conducted in violation of House rules.