Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines September 27
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Alec Baldwin's lawyer hit back after the actor was named as a "possible" defendant by the prosecution in the "Rust" shooting.
Halyna Hutchins died when a gun Baldwin was holding fired while practicing a shot for the film "Rust" on the New Mexico movie set on October 21. The group had been rehearsing in a small church on the set.
New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies named Baldwin specifically in her request for emergency funding to prosecute the case. The DA further claimed she anticipates prosecuting up to four people who were on the set at Bonanza Creek Ranch.
"The ‘Rust’ prosecution could be potentially be prosecutions from one (1) to four (4) defendants," Carmack-Altwies wrote in paperwork filed for an emergency grant. "One of the possible defendants is well-known movie actor Alec Baldwin."
However, a lawyer for Baldwin emphasized that the Santa Fe County Sheriff's report had not even been received by the district attorney yet, and encouraged media to give the DA's office "space to review" the forthcoming report "without unfounded speculation and innuendo."
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New Mexico prosecutors are still waiting on "key forensic" evidence before deciding on criminal charges from the fatal, on set shooting in October. (Getty Images)
"Some media reports today draw false conclusions based on a letter from the Santa Fe Dist. Attorney," Baldwin's lawyer Luke Nikas told Fox News Digital.
"The DA has made clear that she has not received the sheriff's report or made any decisions about who, if anyone, might be charged in this case," the statement furthered. "And during my communications with the DA's office just a few weeks ago, after the August 30 funding request was submitted, I was told that it would be premature to discuss the case because they had not yet reviewed the file or deliberated about their charging decision."
"It is irresponsible to report otherwise," Nikas said. "The DA's office must be given the space to review this matter without unfounded speculation and innuendo."
In paperwork justifying the request for emergency funding, Carmack-Altwies wrote, "During the filming of this movie, Alec Baldwin shot and killed Halyna Hutchins and injured Joel Souza while rehearsing a scene."
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Alec Baldwin shown on the "Rust" movie set (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
Baldwin has continuously deflected the blame from himself. Most recently, he told Chris Cuomo "every single person" on the set of "Rust" knows who to blame for the tragic death of the cinematographer.
"I know that every single person on the set of the film knows what happened, and the people who are talking loudest about what happened or speculating about what happened were not on the set of the film," the "30 Rock" actor said during a podcast appearance.
Carmack-Altwies' request for emergency funding comes ahead of the Santa Fe County Sheriff Department's comprehensive report on the shooting. The sheriff's investigation included an FBI analysis of the gun used in the death of Hutchins, along with the New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) report that ruled Hutchins' death an accident.
The sheriff's office has also been working with Suffolk County PD and Baldwin's lawyer to obtain the actor's phone records.
Once the phone records are obtained, and the official OMI and forensic reports are reviewed, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's investigative case will be sent to the district attorney for review and ultimately final charging decisions.
Alec Baldwin makes a gun with his fingers while speaking with investigators following the "Rust" movie shooting that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead in October. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies named Baldwin as a "potential" defendant in the shooting. (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
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Carmack-Altwies claimed she does not currently have the funding to possibly prosecute four individuals in jury trials. The DA asked for $635,500, but was granted around $317,000 by the state Board of Finance.
Fox News Digital's Janelle Ash contributed to this report.
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