Trump lawyer takes leave of absence after accusations of instructing key Jan. 6 witness to mislead committee

Stefan Passantino, the original advisor to key Jan. 6 witness former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, has taken a leave of absence from law firm effective immediately, as documented evidence and related scrutiny grows about his initial guidance for Hutchinson to mislead the Jan. 6 committee during her testimony.

Passantino serves as lead political attorney for Milwaukee-based law firm Michael Best & Friedrich, a position he has held for four years. His bio has been completely erased from the law firm's website and a company email confirmed Passantino's absence.

While Passantino was not working on behalf of the Michael Best & Friedrich law firm during his advisement of Hutchinson, in the position he did work with several Political Action Committees that worked with President Donald Trump. Known as the top ethics lawyer in the Trump Administration, he was an obvious choice to provide legal guidance to Hutchinson prior to her Jan. 6 testimony.

Hutchinson changed lawyers prior to her now famous June testimony. Passantino has maintained that he was transparent in his role, and directed Hutchinson to be truthful to the committee, even though evidence and scrutiny continues to increase.

Passantino was replaced with lawyers from Alston & Bird, including Joseph Hunt, a former Trump Justice Department official.

Passantino said he will continue as a partner at Elections LLC, a firm he founded with another Trump administration lawyer.