- Hollywood star’s team says Andrea Reeb ‘must’ be taken off his case
- Baldwin is set to make his first court appearance on February 24 over fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in 2021
- Reeb kicked off prosecution sensationally last month alleging ‘Hutchins would be alive today’ if it weren’t for actions of Baldwin and his co-accused
Alec Baldwin has demanded the special prosecutor assigned to his involuntary manslaughter case be disqualified due to her status as a Republican lawmaker.
Baldwin accidentally shot and killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after being handed a gun with live ammunition on the set of his film Rust in October 2021.
Andrea Reeb kicked off the prosecution sensationally last month, and flatly declared that if not for the actions of Baldwin and others on set ‘Hutchins would be alive today.’
But the Hollywood star, who faces up to five years in jail if convicted, has now said the appointment of Reeb as special prosecutor is ‘unconstitutional’ because she also serves in the New Mexico House of Representatives.
A motion to the court filed on behalf of Baldwin – a Democrat and vocal Donald Trump critic – says she ‘must’ be taken off the case, alleging her appointment is a violation of New Mexico’s constitution which prohibits the mixing of two branches of government.
The motion, seen by Law and Crime, adds that she could face ‘pressure’ to make a decision that serves her ‘legislative interests’.
The argument is a constitutional one and not politically motivated, his team said.
‘Under Section 1 of Article III of the New Mexico Constitution, however, a sitting member of the Legislature may not ‘exercise any powers properly belonging’ to either the executive or judicial branch,’ Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas said in the motion.
‘As a special prosecutor, Representative Reeb is vested by statute with ‘all the powers and duties’ of a District Attorney, who is considered to be a member of either the judicial or executive branch of the New Mexico government.
‘The legal question is not a close one, she must be disqualified.’
Baldwin is scheduled to make his first court appearance on February 24.