Alec Baldwin is still not out of the woods regarding his shooting incident.
He fired the gun that killed a crewmember during filming of a movie.
Now law enforcement is demanding Baldwin do one thing.
Alec Baldwin’s reputation is in tatters after he shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the western Rust.
Baldwin faces lawsuits from crewmembers for his negligence as both the lead actor and the producer, but he still must face questions from law enforcement.
Santa Fe police issued a warrant for Baldwin’s phone a month ago, and only now is he turning the phone over.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
“The update comes on the heels of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday issuing a message to the media that said, even though a search warrant had been issued nearly a month prior, the actor had yet to relinquish his device…A search warrant for Baldwin’s phone was approved and executed on Dec. 16. Shortly thereafter, the actor’s lawyer acknowledged receipt of the warrant. When the phone was not handed over, the sheriff’s office then requested assistance from the district attorney’s office; all this information was outlined in a Thursday media release from the sheriff’s office.”
In other words, Baldwin did not turn over the phone until Santa Fe police took the matter to the press.
Baldwin is obsessed with his image and winning the battle of public opinion.
He filmed another social media video where he claimed it was a “lie” he was not cooperating.
Baldwin has been strategic with his public appearances since the shooting incident.
He even claimed he did not pull the trigger during an ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos.
Baldwin also retweeted a New York Times piece that absolved him of blame.
Baldwin’s lawyer Aaron Dyer also shot down suggestions his client was stonewalling the investigation.
Dyer said in a statement:
“We reached an agreement last weekend with the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office, and Mr. Baldwin’s phone is being turned over this week for review…Ever since this tragic incident, Mr. Baldwin has continued to cooperate with the authorities, and any suggestion to the contrary is simply untrue. We requested that the authorities obtain a warrant so that we could protect his privacy on other matters unrelated to Rust and have been working through that process. We are finalizing logistics with the authorities in New York who are assisting in this matter.”
It certainly seems strange that it took a month to reach an “agreement” with law enforcement, and that agreement only came after public pressure, a language Baldwin understands.
Baldwin has lived a charmed life for a long time.
He doesn’t want this cloud hanging over his head, but Hutchins’s death will not easily be swept under the rug.