Los Angeles - The television producer accused of attempting to extort 2 million dollars from talk show host David Letterman sought to have the case dismissed Tuesday, as his lawyer told a Manhattan courtroom that the incident involved a "commercial transaction" rather than extortion. Robert Halderman is accused of attempted grand larceny after allegedly contacting Letterman and demanding the money in exchange for keeping quiet about the talk show host's affairs with female staffers, including Halderman's former girlfriend.
"There was no extortion," defence attorney Gerald Shargel told reporters after a brief appearance in Manhattan criminal court Tuesday, in which he presented a 34-page motion to dismiss the indictment.
"The facts of this case are largely undisputed. They are simple and straightforward. This was a commercial transaction. It was nothing more. It did not violate the penal law. The district attorney's office jumped all over this, I suggest, without taking an appropriate, objective view. I think that celebrity is why we are where we are today," Shargel said.
"This was anything but a legitimate commercial transaction," said Letterman's attorney Daniel Horwitz. "(It) is classic blackmail no matter how Mr Halderman's lawyer wants to dress it up."
Horwitz said he was confident that the motion to dismiss would be denied and that the case will proceed to trial. "And let me say this: Mr Letterman is fully prepared to see this case through to the end, including testifying at a trial to see that justice is done," he told reporters.
