Alec Baldwin was allegedly involved in leaking “Rust” footage to the press in an effort to receive a favorable outcome in his November grand jury hearing, according to new unsealed court documents.
The video in question was obtained by NBC News the night before the grand jury was set to convene. Baldwin could be heard telling crew members to move out of the path of the gun in the footage, which was reportedly captured before Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot Oct. 21, 2021.
New Mexico special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis claimed Baldwin, who also served as a producer on “Rust,” may have “released the cherry-picked videos to NBC News (likely through a third party) with the intention of generating sympathy for the target.”
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Alec Baldwin was accused of leaking “Rust” footage to the press in new, unsealed court documents. (Santa Fe County Sheriffs Department)
“The videos were released to the national press on the eve of the grand jury proceeding in an effort to taint the grand jurors and the grand jury process,” documents state. “Counsel for the state is concerned that any recordings of hearings related to the grand jury proceedings will be used to continue to taint the grand jury process by the target and/or his counsel.”
In the video footage, Baldwin could be heard saying, “Now, wait a second. I’m going to shoot right? Do you mind going to the other side of the camera? I don’t want to shoot toward you.”
At another point, Baldwin appeared concerned for the safety of whoever is behind the camera, saying, “I don’t know why you’re going up hills and all this other — you’re going to break your f—ing neck.”
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Morrisey and Lewis also called into question the “same reporter” who broke the video footage story on NBC News and who previously worked for CNN and conducted an “on air interview with the target and his attorney in August 2022, giving him a platform to publicly present his defense that he did not pull the trigger when the gun went off killing Halyna Hutchins and injuring Joel Souza on October 21, 2021.”
Alec Baldwin was shown sitting in the church where Hutchins was killed in outtakes from the “Rust” production used during Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s trial. (CourtTv)
They added that the media plug gave “his counsel an opportunity to make a public plea that a criminal prosecution of his client would be unjust.”
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Baldwin’s legal team fired back Nov. 21 with a motion for sanctions against Morrissey and Lewis, claiming the state “has pursued a prejudicial media campaign against Baldwin since the beginning of this prosecution.”
His team claimed that, “within about an hour” of the grand jury hearing ending on Nov. 15, his lawyer, Luke Nikas, was contacted by NBC News for confirmation that the grand jury date had been vacated. Documents stated that by the time Nikas could return NBC’s call, “NBC had already reported Morrissey’s disclosure of what happened during the court hearing.
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“Special Prosecutor Morrissey violated the Court’s order barely one hour after the court ordered the parties not to disclose any information regarding the hearing or grand jury process.”
Alec Baldwin appears on video rehearsing with a revolver before fatal “Rust” shooting. (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot in October 2021 on the set of “Rust.” (Fred Hayes)
In response to Baldwin’s team requesting sanctions against the state’s special prosecutors, Morrissey argued she never provided a comment to NBC News regarding the grand jury but declined to comment due to the “ongoing protective order.”
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“Charges against Mr. Baldwin are not being pursued because of his criminal history, his impressive level of arrogance or to teach him a lesson,” documents stated. “Counsel’s intention was to complete the investigation and make a sound and reasonable charging decision in a case where a human life was lost. The loss of a human life necessitated that a full and detailed investigation be completed.”
On Thursday, Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss his indictment and claimed prosecutors violated “nearly every rule in the book” in an effort to convict him for the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
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“Enough is enough. This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme,” the documents stated.
Baldwin was indicted on two counts in January — involuntary manslaughter, negligent use of a firearm, or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection.
Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the prop gun that led to Hutchins’ death. At the time, he had been rehearsing a scene featuring a cross-draw that Hutchins wanted to possibly add to the script.
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If Baldwin is convicted, he could face up to 18 months in prison. Baldwin’s trial is scheduled to begin in July.
Representatives for Baldwin did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
Source Agencies
