Late Show host David Letterman and his alleged extortionist, former CBS News producer Robert Joe Haldeman may yet get a face off in court.
Their attorneys, Gerald Shargel (for Haldeman) and Daniel Horvitz (for Letterman) gave a little taste of a possible showdown in a segment on today’s (Nov. 11) segment of CBS’s Early Show. (See the video).
Shargel said Halderman was merely trying to make a “legitimate business transaction.” He simply wanted to sell his screenplay to Letterman.
Shargel has threatened that Letterman will face a grueling cross-examination that will air all kinds of dirty laundry, if the case goes to trial.
But Horvitz not only disagreed with Shargel’s assertion about a business transaction, but added that Letterman was “absolutely” ready to take the stand to prove the state’s claim that he was a victim of alleged blackmail.
Letterman, 62, revealed the whole episode on his Oct. 1 show. The detailing of the alleged plot to extort $2 million in hush money from him over his affairs drew more than 5.8 million viewers.
Letterman, in classic fashion, spiked his apologies with wise cracks and jokes. But he did acknowledge that his wife, Regina Lasko, had been “horribly hurt by my behavior. ” He swore that his sexual affairs were “in the past.”
Whether he is willing to really take the stand in a public trail and rehash many of the details of his alleged affairs remains to be seen.
Halderman has pleaded not guilty to the charges; if the producer is found guilty of attempted grand larceny, he faces up to 15 years in state prison.
If it was just a routine “business transaction,” Halderman certainly seemed to go about it like an extortionist.
He initially contacted Letterman about his so-called deal, by dropping an envelope in the back seat of Letterman’s car filled with incriminating information.
Halderman had recently broken up with a former Letterman assistant, who wrote about her torrid affair with the talkshow host in her diary. Halderman put copies of excerpts from the diary and treatment for a screen play in the evenlope.
He later demanded $2 million from Letterman not to go forward with the project or publicize the information. Letterman contacted authorities and went through with a sting operation that led to Halderman’s arrest.
