Former Trump White House attorney Stefan Passantino filed a defamation lawsuit against MSNBC’s Andrew Weissman, who served as lead prosecutor for former special counsel Robert Mueller, over Weissman’s claims that Passantino coached discredited January 6 Committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson to lie on the stand.
“Hutchinson’s third-hand testimony that Trump grabbed the wheel of his presidential limousine in an effort to force it to drive to the Capitol was rejected by the people she claimed had told her about it,” Breitbart News reported.
Passantino represented Hutchinson at the time of her testimony before the committee. Many members of the media falsely claimed he coached her to lie on the stand, a claim he has repeatedly denied.
Passantino’s lawsuit cites a September 15 tweet from Weissman in which he referenced Passantino as the lawyer “who coached her to lie,” referencing Hutchinson.
Hunt also is Cassidy Hutchinson’s good lawyer. (Not the one who coached her to lie) And he is the guy who took notes of Trump saying, when Mueller was appointed, quoting him as saying “I’m f….d” https://t.co/HFGmwI9f0B
— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) September 15, 2023
As the lawsuit alleges:
Defendant knew this to be false, or said it with reckless disregard for its falsity, because the transcripts of testimony showed that Mr. Passantino had done nothing to obstruct or shape Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony and indeed showed the opposite as she stated that “Stefan never told me to lie” and that “he told me not to lie.”
Defendant chose to smear Mr. Passantino because of partisan animus and Mr. Passantino’s prior affiliation with President Trump. Additionally, Defendant attacked Mr. Passantino as a means of distracting from and rehabilitating the contradictory and uncredible aspects of Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony, as they undermine the Select Committee and its partisan findings and purpose.
Defendant’s smear has deeply damaged Mr. Passantino’s 30-year reputation and had caused him to lose significant business and income. Mr. Passantino seeks to hold Defendant accountable for this vicious lie and the damages it has wrought.
The lawsuit also cites text messages Hutchinson sent to a close friend where she admits Passantino encouraged her to cooperate with the January 6 Committee.
“I don’t know… But I don’t want to comply… Stefan wants me to comply,” Hutchinson wrote in the text messages.
Passantino’s lawsuit also references Hutchinson’s September 2022 testimony in which she told the committee, “I want to make this clear to you: Stefan never told me to lie.”
Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“I just want to make sure that I make it clear that he didn’t say, ‘I want you to lie and say that you don’t recall on these things when I know you recall,’” she continued. “He didn’t tell me to lie. He told me not to lie.”
Passantino said he represented Hutchinson “honorably, ethically, and fully consistent with her sole interests as she communicated them to me (and others) while I represented her.”
“As Ms. Hutchinson herself testified, I never counseled her to lie. I have never counseled a client to mislead anyone,” Passantino said in a statement. “Anyone who takes the time to read the transcripts in which I represent Ms. Hutchinson or to learn anything about me will know this one-sided caricature of me is false.”
“I have already initiated legal action arising from the January 6 Committee’s unlawful and unethical conduct,” he continued. “This country has defamation laws for a reason, and I intend to avail myself of them – starting today.”
The lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seems damages in excess of $75,000.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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