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Actor Alec Baldwin still faces possible prison time in the case of the death of a cinematographer who he shot and killed on the set of his movie “Rust,” but now he is taking swipes at the special prosecutor in the case.
In a new court filing, Baldwin’s attorney said that the special prosecutor, New Mexico state Rep. Andrea Reeb, used her public statements to advance her career and violated Baldwin’s Constitutional rights. The state representative removed herself from the case last week after it was argued that she could not exercise both judicial and legislative power at the same time.
ABC News reported: “In a motion filed on Tuesday withdrawing their now-moot Feb. 7 motion to disqualify Reeb, Baldwin’s attorneys outlined a series of concerns they had over-reported private and public statements made by the Santa Fe district attorney’s office and Reeb. The actor faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Hutchins. When the district attorney’s office announced last year that Reeb would join the team investigating the October 2021 on-set shooting, Reeb was a candidate for the New Mexico House of Representatives. Baldwin’s motion this week cites a New York Times report published on Tuesday on a private email exchange between Reeb and Santa Fe County district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, calling it ‘yet another troubling development’ in the state’s prosecution.”
The Times reported on June 9, 2022, that the representative said in a text message to the district attorney to mention that she is taking part in the case because “it might help in my campaign lol.”
Baldwin’s attorney said in the filing that to “publicize the fact that she was working on the case in order to advance her political career,” and said it was an “abuse of the system” and violated his client’s constitutional rights.
They cited a statement from the district attorney’s office spokesperson in response to the defense’s motion to have Rep. Reeb removed from the case which said that Baldwin and his attorneys “can use whatever tactics they want to distract from the fact that Halyna Hutchins died because of gross negligence and a reckless disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set.”
Reeb announced in a statement on Tuesday that she would be stepping away from the case.
“After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to step down as special prosecutor in the ‘Rust’ case,” Reeb said in a statement that was released by the office of New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney on Tuesday.
“My priority in this case—and in every case I’ve prosecuted in my 25-year career—has been justice for the victim. However, it has become clear that the best way I can ensure justice is served in this case is to step down so that the prosecution can focus on the evidence and the facts, which clearly show a complete disregard for basic safety protocols led to the death of Halyna Hutchins. I will not allow questions about my serving as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the real issue at hand,” she added.
Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21, 2021, after a gun Baldwin was holding fired.
Just days after being charged with involuntary manslaughter last month, Baldwin’s attorney filed a motion to have her removed from the case.
In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Baldwin’s attorney contended that Reeb could not fulfill the roles of both the special prosecutor and a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives at the same time.
“Doing so vests two core powers of different branches – legislating and prosecuting – in the same person and is thus barred by the plain language of Article III of the New Mexico Constitution,” the legal documents noted.
“Were the arrangement here approved by the courts, future District Attorneys could seek to curry favor with legislators who control their budgets by appointing them to high-profile cases – distorting the legislative process,” Baldwin’s lawyers wrote.
In response to Reeb’s resignation, Luke Nikas, Baldwin’s lawyer, referred to the previous motion to disqualify her on Tuesday. He specifically cited a section that stated, there is “no question that Representative Reeb is violating both the plain text and the purpose of the New Mexico Constitution’s separation-of-powers provision by serving simultaneously as a legislator and a prosecutor.”
