Trump White House Lawyer Alleges Mueller Team Prosecutor Defamed Him with Claim He Coached Jan. 6 Witness to Lie
Stefan Passantino, a lawyer who represented the Trump White House, is taking legal action against former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann. Passantino claims that Weissmann defamed him by accusing him of coaching a witness to lie in a Congressional probe regarding the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Passantino filed a federal complaint in Washington D.C. federal court on Friday, alleging that Weissmann made defamatory statements about him in a Sept. 15 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Passantino’s lawsuit argues that Weissmann was specifically referring to him when he mentioned a lawyer who allegedly coached former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson to lie to members of the House committee investigating the Capitol breach.
“Hunt also is Cassidy Hutchinson’s good lawyer. (Not the one who coached her to lie),” Weissmann’s Sept. 15 X post reads, mentioning Jody Hunt, another lawyer who represented Hutchinson.
Weissmann, a career federal prosecutor who was part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating claims of coordination between President Donald Trump and the Russian government during the 2016 election, has since become a legal analyst for MSNBC and co-hosts the network’s “Prosecuting Donald Trump” podcast.
The lawsuit argues that Weissmann’s defamatory comments stem from a biased animosity towards Passantino’s previous association with President Trump.
NTD News reached out to Weissmann for comment through MSNBC, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Passantino represented several former members of the Trump White House, including Hutchinson, who provided testimony to the committee in 2022.
In his complaint, Passantino alleges that Hutchinson initially opposed testifying before the Democrat-led House committee and expressed contempt for their efforts.
The legal complaint highlights text messages in which Hutchinson sought help from a Trump-friendly conservative political organization to find legal representation. After being subpoenaed to testify, she referred to the committee’s actions as “BS” and explored her options.
Despite her initial opposition, Hutchinson eventually cooperated as a witness for the committee. During her testimony, she claimed that Secret Service official Tony Ornato informed her that President Trump had a heated exchange with a Secret Service driver in an attempt to redirect his vehicle to the U.S. Capitol.
However, Ornato stated in a subsequent hearing that he had no recollection of such an altercation involving President Trump.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a top former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testifies during the sixth hearing by the House Jan. 6 committee on the U.S. Capitol breach in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington on June 28, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
In a Sept. 14, 2022, appearance before the Jan. 6 committee, Hutchinson expressed her preference for an attorney not closely affiliated with ”Trump world.” However, due to financial constraints, she acknowledged that individuals close to Trump had assisted witnesses in obtaining legal representation.
Hutchinson also revealed that one of her contacts, who she believed was trying to bring her back into “Trump world,” reacted negatively to her decision to testify for the Jan. 6 committee.
Hutchinson’s Testimony Guidance
During her Sept. 14, 2022, testimony, Hutchinson stated that Passantino advised her not to volunteer information about President Trump’s alleged altercation with his Secret Service driver. He also instructed her to use the response “I don’t recall” when necessary, even if she had some recollection of events but not the exact details.
“The committee doesn’t know what you can and can’t recall, so we want to be able to use that as much as we can unless you really, really remember something very clearly,” Passantino reportedly told Hutchinson. “And that’s when you give a short, sweet response. You don’t want to get ahead of their questioning. Let them ask the questions.”
While Passantino advised Hutchinson to withhold certain details and stick to the committee’s questions, she maintained that he never instructed her to lie.
“I want to make this clear to you: Stefan [Passantino] never told me to lie,” she affirmed during her Sept. 14, 2022, testimony before the Jan. 6 Committee.
There was some disagreement between Hutchinson and Passantino regarding what constituted a lie. During her initial May 2022 testimony, Hutchinson expressed feeling like she had lied, but Passantino reassured her that she had not.
How might Passantino’s lawsuit impact ongoing investigations into the events of Jan. 6
Ated with the Trump administration. She stated, “I don’t want someone affiliated with the Trump administration defending me. I want someone who is not associated with that.” However, Passantino, who was a lawyer closely affiliated with the Trump White House, ended up representing her in the committee’s investigation.
Passantino’s lawsuit contends that Weissmann’s accusation of coaching a witness to lie is false and defamatory. The lawsuit argues that Weissmann made these statements with the intention of harming Passantino’s professional reputation and credibility.
Passantino is seeking damages for defamation and is demanding a retraction and apology from Weissmann. The lawsuit alleges that Weissmann’s defamatory statements have caused significant harm to Passantino’s personal and professional life.
This legal action brings to light the contentious nature of the investigations into the events of Jan. 6 and the political divisions surrounding the Trump administration. As the committee delves deeper into the breach of the U.S. Capitol, accusations and counter-accusations continue to emerge.
It remains to be seen how the court will handle Passantino’s lawsuit against Weissmann and whether this legal action will have any impact on the ongoing investigations. The outcome of this case could have broader implications for the accountability and credibility of individuals involved in high-profile investigations and their ability to freely make public statements without fear of defamation claims.
As the legal battle unfolds, it is crucial to remember the importance of due process and the presumption of innocence. The allegations made by Pass
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