Robert J. Halderman, the producer suspected of blackmailing Letterman for $2 million to keep the TV host's affairs with co-workers quiet, is expected to ask a court to drop the extortion case against him today.
Lawyers for Halderman tell Access Hollywood that they're challenging whether or not the evidence is sufficient and will ask the judge to dismiss the case.
Halderman has pleaded not guilty to first-degree grand larceny. He could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
That sex/extortion scandal sure didn't hurt David Letterman - in fact, The Hollywood Reporter says The Late Show is up 13% for total viewers!
"It doesn't appear to have hurt him and likely got him more sampling," said Bill Carroll, VP and director of programming at Katz Television Group. But what about his reputation?
One of the very few female writers on the staff of Late Night With David Letterman revealed the reason she quit the talk show almost two decades ago was because of the sexually charged atmosphere.
Nell Scovell wouldn't name names or dates in her piece for Vanity Fair, but she says what led her to ultimate quit her "dream job" after less than a season was because she felt the affairs Dave and other high-level male execs were having with female employees created a "hostile work environment."
"Was I aware of the rumor that Dave was having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Was I aware that other high-level male employees were having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Did these female staffers have access to information and wield power disproportionate to their job titles? Yes. Did that create a hostile work environment? Yes. Did I believe these female staffers were benefiting professionally from their personal relationships? Yes. Did that make me feel demeaned? Completely. Did I say anything at the time? Sadly, no."
Nell said the her last day on the show, Dave, who never hit on her, summoned her to his office to ask why she was leaving. "I considered telling him the truth, but with Dave’s rumored mistress within earshot, I balked. Instead, I told him I missed L.A. Dave said, 'You’re welcome back anytime.'”
Though it was previously revealed that David Letterman's blackmailer was the jilted ex-lover (Robert Halderman) of the woman (Stephanie Birkitt) he was allegedly having an affair with, it looks like Dave is focusing more on himself and less on the fact that he cheated on his poor wife!
Though Dave apologized to his lady love on The Late Show last night, he also took a few minutes to play his own pity card.
"I wasn't going to talk about it anymore but it seemed like people wanted to talk about it. When you're blackmailed, its a crime and you're a victim - it's felony extortion." Dave continued, "It's a nasty thing to do to people," and he kept using the word "victim" in reference to himself. Hmm, it's ALL about Dave, right?
"It's fall here in New York City, and I spent the whole weekend raking my hate mail. It's cold, too - chilly outside, chilly inside my house," he continued. "This is only phase one of the scandal. Phase two: Next week I go on Oprah and sob."
Wonder how much Regina's been scolding him? Maybe he'll pull a Kobe and give her a huge gem to put on her finger?
David Letterman took to the stage of the Ed Sullivan theater this afternoon for the first time since he revealed he was the victim of a bizarre extortion plot against him, where he received a standing ovation from the packed house.
"Did your weekend just fly by?" Dave deadpanned in typical fashion.
He went on to apologize to his wife by saying:
"She has been horribly hurt by my behavior and when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it's your responsibility, you try to fix it. And at that point, there's only two things that can happen: either you're going to make some progress and get it fixed, or you're going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed, so let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me."
Regarding the apology he feels he owes to his staff:
"I'm terribly sorry that I put the staff in that position," he said. "Inadvertently, I just wasn't thinking ahead. And, moreover, the staff here has been wonderfully supportive to me, not just through this furor, but through all the years that we've been on television and especially all the years here at CBS, so, again, my thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in."
After Dave confessed the surprising extortion plot against him on the Late Show Thursday night, it was revealed that the woman at the center of the plot was former Late Show assistant Stephanie Birkitt, aka "Vicky" (featured in the vid above), was the female staffer in question.
Birkitt apparently lived with Robert Halderman, the man accused of trying to extort $2 million from Letterman, and threatened the talk-show host with pages from Birkitt's diary.
And since Dave was able to extract some laughs out of his unfortunate predicament, Jay Leno had to get into the mix, telling his audience last night that "If you came here tonight for sex with a talk show host, you've got the wrong studio."
He then went on to admit that "I'm happy to say that I've never had a sexual relationship with any of my staff members."
Robert "Joe" Halderman, an Emmy Award-winning CBS producer who worked for 48 Hours has been arrested for trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman over sexual affairs the late night host had with female employees. Halderman was taken into police custody yesterday by two plain-clothes police officers outside of the CBS studio in New York City on charges of attempted grand larceny.
Halderman threatened to write a screenplay that would reveal Letterman's conquests, and he left left a package with a letter in Letterman's car demanding $2 million. On The Late Show last night Letterman told his audience that when he got in his car three weeks ago, he found a package with a letter saying, "I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove you do some terrible things." Letterman said, "At 6 in the morning, all you can think about is every terrible thing you've ever done in your entire life...If you know me, I am motivated by guilt. I am just a towering mass of Lutheran, Midwestern guilt...So I get to the office and I say to myself, 'I hate doing things like this, but maybe I'll call my attorney.'"
Letterman called his lawyer to set up a meeting with Halderman, and after two meetings took place, a check was delivered. "I was worried for myself, I was worried for my family," the late night host said. "I felt menaced by this, and I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I had done. The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. My response to that is yes, I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Yes, it would, especially for the women."
Yikes! But we feel like Halderman did get some of what he wanted, because now we all know Dave had sexual relations with some of the women in his office...
Sarah Michelle Gellar looked gorge in a white high-waisted pencil skirt as she greeted fans, posed for pix and signed autographs on a chilly NYC afternoon outside of the Ed Sullivan theater for an appearance on The Late Show.
Conversely, Ringo Starr had barely a wave for his frozen fans, who booed him as he walked briskly past.
Whose autograph would you rather have: Buffy or the Beatle's?
The Writer's Guild announced last night that they just reached an agreement with David Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants, which owns not just The Late Show, but The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as well.
That means Dave will return in the New Year WITH all of his writing staff. Jay Leno will return with new episodes the same night, but sans writers.
That sex/extortion scandal sure didn't hurt David Letterman - in fact, 
Birkitt pic courtesy of CBS
