Alec Baldwin rejects claims of obstructing justice over Rust shooting

Alec Baldwin has hit out at new claims that he is not complying with the police investigation into the fatal Rust shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film last year. Police have been trying to get hold of the actor’s phone, which officers believe holds information that can help with their enquiries.
However, despite a search warrant being issued more than three weeks ago, the device has still not been obtained by the detectives. Pushing back against the claims that he is withholding vital evidence, instead, Mr Baldwin is saying that specifying exactly what is needed from the phone takes time.
In a long video message posted to his Instagram page on Saturday, the 63-year-old said that “any suggestion” that he had been deliberately evasive with investigators was a “lie”.
“They can’t just go through your phone and take your photos, or your love letters to your wife, or what have you,” Alec Baldwin said. “That is a process that takes time.”
“But of course, we are going to comply 1,000% with all that,” he added.
On Friday 7 January, the law enforcement assigned to the case in New Mexico requested help from the authorities based in New York in retrieving the device. District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who has been overseeing the investigation, said her office is working with the New York Sheriff’s Department and Mr Baldwin’s lawyers “to obtain any materials from Mr Baldwin’s phone that pertain to the Rust shooting investigation”.
In a search warrant granted on 16 December, investigators said they were looking for any texts, images, videos or calls related to the movie production, reports the BBC. Ms Hutchins was fatally shot when Alec Baldwin was rehearsing with a prop gun on the set of Rust. He is insisting that he “didn’t pull the trigger”. But a lawsuit against the actor has described his behaviour as “reckless” and cited union-busting staff not following safety protocols as part of the actions that lead to the tragedy.

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