Following the recent DA announcement that Alec Baldwin would be charged with involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, charges which could land him in prison for 18 months, Breitbart’s John Nolte wrote a report explaining what the “dumbest thing” Alec Baldwin did in connection with the tragic shooting was.
Surprisingly, according to Nolte it’s not that Alet Baldwin pulled the trigger on the firearm, as he had been told it was “cold” and had no reason to think it might be loaded. Writing on that, Nolte said:
Obviously, some 15 months after the fact, the local district attorney is taking the death of a human being seriously. Personally, I don’t see the logic behind charging Baldwin. He was told the gun was safe or “cold” in industry terms. He certainly had no intent to harm anyone. Could he have done more to ensure the gun was safe? Yes, of course. Nevertheless, it was not at all unreasonable for Baldwin to believe he had nothing to worry about after being handed a firearm that he was told passed inspection by an armorer and assistant director.
So what was the “dumbest thing” Baldwin did, in Nolte’s view? It was talking. Specifically, it was talking to police without his lawyer present. Here’s what Nolte said:
Right away, Baldwin made the biggest mistake you can make in a criminal investigation: he talked to the police.
You never-ever-ever-ever talk to the police without your attorney present. “I’m sorry, Detective, but I’m not going to talk to you without my attorney.” That’s what you say—every time. Someone breaks into your house, and you shoot him; that’s what you say. You stop a mass shooter at your local Walmart with a gun of your own; that’s what you say. No matter how innocent you might believe you are, no matter how righteous you believe you acted, you never talk to the police without your attorney.
Listen, I’m not anti-cop, but I’m also not one of those “thin blue line” cultists. My personal dealings with the police — the usual number of accidents, traffic tickets — have been positive. But the police are not your friend. When a crime happens, they are not there to protect your rights. They have an agenda of their own. Your attorney’s agenda is YOU. The fact that Baldwin allowed himself to be taken into an interrogation room without counsel was idiotic.
And it wasn’t just the police that Baldwin talked to. He also talked to the media, particularly ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. During that interview, he said:
“Well, she’s laying there and I go, ‘Did she get hit by wadding? Was there a blank? Sometimes those blank rounds have a wadding inside that packs, it’s like a cloth that packs the gunpowder in. Sometimes wadding comes out, it can hit people, and it could feel like a little bit of a poke. But no one could understand. Did she have a heart attack? Because remember the idea that someone put a live bullet in the gun was not even in reality. I never pulled the trigger. No, no, no. You would never do that.”
FNC’s Leo Terrell said that that was going to come back to haunt Baldwin, saying “One of the biggest mistakes Alec Baldwin made was to go on George Stephanopoulos’ program and say he didn’t pull the trigger. That was a lie. I guarantee you that’s going to come back to haunt him.”
Nolte also said that Baldwin’s talking to the media was a poor decision, writing:
To compound that error, Baldwin talked to the media!
Who was advising this guy, Daffy Duck?
You’ve just shot and killed someone, and you’re talking extemporaneously to the media? You sit down for two hours — two hours — with George Stephanopoulos? You sit down with CNN?
From a strictly human point of view, I can empathize with the pressure Baldwin must have felt to get his side of the story out, hoping he could return to a normal life. The problem is that the potential for downside — being convicted of a felony — is not worth any potential upside.
But even from a public relations standpoint, Baldwin’s interviews were a category-five disaster. Claiming he never pulled the trigger and saying he did not feel culpable in any way was as tone-deaf as you get.
So, learn from Baldwin: never talk to cops without your lawyer or to the media if accused of a crime. It might come back to bite you in a big way, as Alec Baldwin is learning.
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