Going on an Instagram rant is never a good idea when you’re under criminal investigation. But that’s Alec Baldwin. Never a model of wisdom.
He claims he’s cooperating. Yet, when the lead detective in New Mexico asked him to hand over his cell phone he refused…and told her to go get a warrant. She did 25 days ago, but he’s yet to produce his phone. Baldwin claims you have to go through state authorities in New York. No, you don’t. The same detective asked both the armorer and the assistant director to hand over their phones…and they did so immediately without a warrant. That’s cooperation.
Baldwin says the warrant needs to be specific. But it is. I have a copy of it. It’s quite specific…asking for any communications relating to the production, including text messages, emails, photos, video files, and private messages on social media. Police and prosecutors have reason to believe there’s valuable evidence there.
His other excuse is that he doesn’t want authorities to see material on his phone that’s private and unrelated, like “love letters to his wife.” But New Mexico authorities have assured him that anything unrelated to the case will be “sealed and destroyed.”
If Baldwin sincerely wanted to cooperate, as he claims, he and his lawyer could have negotiated for a neutral monitor to conduct the review. It doesn’t take nearly a month to get that accomplished.
Of course, the other possibility is that Baldwin doesn’t want authorities to see incriminating information…such as messages that contradict his statements to the police. Or, worse, efforts by him to delete potentially incriminating material…which might rise to the level of obstruction of justice.
Baldwin claims he’s cooperating. But his actions to date seem to belie that.
