WHAT IN TARNATION

‘Rust’ Special Prosecutor Resigns After Alec Baldwin Challenge

Alec Baldwin’s lawyers challenged Andrea Reeb’s appointment, saying her other job as a state legislator violated New Mexico’s constitution.

The special prosecutor appointed to the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin after the fatal shooting on the set of Rust in 2021 has voluntarily stepped down, authorities said Tuesday. Andrea Reeb’s departure follows a motion filed by Baldwin’s attorneys arguing that her separate job as a state lawmaker violated New Mexico’s constitution. “I will not allow questions about my serving as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the real issue at hand,” she said in a statement announcing the decision. Reeb’s resignation marks the second major setback for prosecutors this year, after they downgraded his charges “to avoid further litigious distractions” by Baldwin’s team, they said in February. A charge of involuntary manslaughter was similarly downgraded for prop armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Both denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the charges.