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Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Alec Baldwin on Thursday sued Santa Fe's district attorney and county commissioners for malicious prosecution and violation of New Mexico's Civil Rights Act over their failed criminal prosecution of the Rust actor. The suit alleges "deprivation of rights afforded by the Constitution and laws of the United States, malicious abuse of process, intentional spoliation of evidence, defamation, and violation of the New Mexico Civil Rights Act."
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It alleges prosecutors, rather than seeking the truth, were "blinded by their desire to convict Alec Baldwin for all the wrong reasons, and at any cost."
Baldwin was charged in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed in October 2021 when a gun held by Baldwin fired a live round during a rehearsal on the set of the movie Rust.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the manslaughter case against Baldwin because state prosecutors failed to turn over a box of ammunition used as evidence in the case to Baldwin's defense counsel.
Sommer said there was no other way for the court to right the wrong.
Baldwin filed the lawsuit two weeks after New Mexico's attorney general declined to pursue an appeal of the judge's order to dismiss the criminal case against him.
The lawsuit accuses prosecutors of abusing their powers in order "to scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law."
"Criminal prosecutions are to be guided by the search for truth and justice, not to pursue personal or political gain or harass the innocent," it added.
The lawsuit accuses then-special prosecutor Andrea Reeb of joining the prosecution of Baldwin for political gain.
Reeb is the former district attorney for New Mexico's Ninth Judicial District and was actively campaigning for a seat in New Mexico's House of Representatives at the time.
When Reeb took the special prosecutor role in the Rust case New Mexico's First District Mary Carmack-Altwies assured her it would not be disclosed to the media.
According to Baldwin's suit, Reeb responded to Carmack-Altwies with a June 9, 2022 email that said, "At some point though, I'd at least like to get out there that I am assisting you ... as it might help in my campaign lol."
The suit cites alleged prosecutorial misconduct that allegedly included, "Defendants' intentional concealment of exculpatory evidence and then lying from the witness stand during trial about their coverup."
The lawsuit seeks both compensatory and general damages for legal expenses, loss of income, severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and embarrassment "in an amount to be determined at trial."
"Because Defendants' actions were motivated by evil motive or intent and involved a reckless or callous indifference to Baldwin's constitutionally protected rights, an award of punitive damages is appropriate to the fullest extent permitted by law," Baldwin's suit said.
