Gerald Shargel, the lawyer for alleged David Letterman extortionist Robert Halderman, says Letterman is a “master at manipulation”– and hinted there’s more to the sordid story, which Letterman bared on national TV last week.
“So to think that David Letterman gave the entire story, and there’s nothing more to be said, it’s simply wrong,” Shargel told Ann Curry on this morning’s “Today” show.
Shargel, who made the rounds on the morning news shows, was on to defend Halderman, a “48 Hours” producer who’s accused of attempting to shake Letterman down for $2 million — or else go public with Letterman’s sexual dalliances with female “Late Show” staffers.
He pleaded not guilty Friday in Manhattan to attempted first-degree grand larceny.
Letterman revealed the bombshell plot on last Thursday’s “Late Show,” admitting that, “I have had sex with women who work for me on this show.” Letterman also referred to himself as “creepy” when detailing Halderman’s alleged extortion plot, which started when Letterman said he found a package on the back seat of his car.
“You know what? David give his side of the story,” Shargel said, alluding to Halderman’s version. “David Letterman said what he wanted the public to know, he wanted to get out ahead of the story, and that’s exactly what he did.
“He’s a master at manipulating audiences, that’s what he does for a living,” Shargel said.
Shargel said the charge against his client is “so obviously out of character to the point of not making any sense.”
“Here’s a guy who is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, who has dealt with cops and wiretaps and undercover investigations virtually his entire life,” Shargel said on CBS’s “The Early Show.”
“And the claim is that he intended to extort David Letterman in the way that is claimed? Look at the fact that there was a $2 million check. In the history of extortion, I don’t think there’s been a single case where the alleged extortionist took a check in payment. It just doesn’t make any sense.
“I’m not saying he didn’t take the check,” Shargel continued, “but the question at the end of the day is, what was his intent? One of the things that the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, one of the elements of the offense, is that Joe Halderman had specific criminal intent. And I say to you and to the public that we shouldn’t rush to judgment, because I think, at the end of the day, when the case is tried and after the cross-examination of David Letterman and the full story comes out, I’m confident that a jury will not find that specific criminal intent.”
With Post Wire Services