Alec Baldwin
insists ... he's not dumb enough to attack a
photog at a
courthouse for
no reason ... claiming he only went after the snapper yesterday because
he was provoked.
Baldwin just appeared on "
CBS This Morning" ... saying
NY Daily News photog
Marcus Santos lunged at him as he was leaving a
NYC courthouse yesterday and "almost hit me in the teeth with the lens of his camera."
Alec admits
he shoved the guy back
... but says he's certain his actions were justified ... or else he
wouldn't have done anything ... especially with all of the cops around.
Baldwin also says the photog has "baited me before" ... and even camped out in front of his house.
"People think I'm out there just decking photographers willy-nilly, nothing could be further from the truth."
But the photog tells a very different story in a new video he shot for
the
NY Daily News ... claiming he was standing far away from "Alex
Baldwick" ... when the actor charged at him for no reason ... "like a
raging bull."
So, we gotta ask ...