“The gun used in the fatal shooting on the Rust movie set could not have been fired without pulling the trigger, ” far-left ABC News reported, summarizing an FBI forensic report.
This is in direct conflict with actor Alec Baldwin’s claim he did not pull the trigger on the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last year during a camera rehearsal.
A musician plays a violin behind a photograph of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. (Andres Leighton/AP)
“No, no, no, no, I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them, never,” Baldwin told George Stephanopolous in December. “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” he added.
The FBI says otherwise:
Accidental discharge testing determined that the firearm used in the shooting — a .45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver — could not have fired without the trigger being pulled, the FBI report shows.
With the hammer in the quarter- and half-cock positions, the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger,” the report stated.
With the hammer fully cocked, the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional,” the report stated.
As of this writing, Baldwin has yet to comment on the report.
This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Saturday, October 23, 2021. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Normally, we expect the corrupt FBI to cover up for a left-wing sacred cow like Alec Baldwin. My guess is that if the FBI could have covered up for Baldwin, it would have. Such a cover-up would benefit Democrats in two ways: 1) protect their pal Baldwin, and 2) make the eeeevil gun that mysteriously shoots itself the villain.
But even an FBI as corrupt as this one has to draw a line somewhere. As much as the feds might have wanted to protect the left’s precious Alec, claiming a gun fired itself is a bridge too far.
This FBI report also confirms Breitbart’s analysis. At the time, we detailed the lack of credibility in Baldwin’s claim that he did not pull the trigger—which is only credible if you are dealing with a faulty and broken gun that can only fire by snapping back the hammer.
It should be noted that nothing in the FBI report disputes another possibility: that Baldwin drew the gun, depressed the trigger during the draw, and kept it depressed. With some single-action revolvers, it is possible that if you keep the trigger depressed, you can fire the weapon by pulling back the hammer, which allows the hammer to snap forward and fire the bullet.
Baldwin did admit to Stephanopoulos that he cocked the gun while pointing it at the doomed Hutchins.
“I cock the gun, and I go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?’ And I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun goes off,” Baldwin told Stephanopoulos. “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” he added.
It is possible he had the trigger depressed the entire time, and when he let go of the hammer, it snapped forward and fired the fatal bullet.
In that case, he still pulled the trigger but might not have been conscious of the fact he had.
Nothing else makes sense.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
