Lawyer Asks Court to Drop Letterman Extort Charges

Nov. 10, 2009— -- The television news producer accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman asked a judge today to dismiss the charges against him, claiming he was only trying to sell the talk show host a screenplay.

The lawyer for CBS News producer Robert "Joe" Halderman told reporters that his client "did not break the law," but was looking to do business with Letterman. Prosecutors, however, contend Halderman tried to get Letterman to pay him $2 million to keep his affairs with female staffers a secret.

"There was no extortion," said Halderman's attorney Gerald Shargel outside a Manhattan courthouse. He described Halderman's contact with Letterman as a "simple and straight forward commercial transaction [that] did not break the law."

Shargel asked the judge to dismiss the case based on a lack of evidence presented to the grand jury. He said the judge's decision whether to dismiss the case will be announced in January.

Letterman's attorney called the comedian a "victim" and dismissed Halderman's claims that this was anything but blackmail.

"Any attempt to direct attention on Letterman is wrong. He is the victim," said attorney Dan Horwitz. "This is classic blackmail no matter how Halderman's attorney wants to dress it up."

"These motions will be denied... and Mr. Letterman will testify in court and see this through to the end," Horwitz said.

Halderman's appearance in court comes on the same day of a "Good Morning America" appearance by a friend and former co-worker who said Halderman was confident and optimistic about his case.

"He has a really good lawyer and he really thinks he is going to do well with this case," Dr. Bob Arnot, who worked with Halderman at CBS for 14 years, told "GMA" today.

Halderman, who has pleaded not guilty, was released on $200,000 bail soon after Letterman admitted to his affairs and accused Halderman of blackmail on his "Late Show." If convicted, Halderman could face up to 15 years in prison.

"He does feel very confident and is willing to go to trial if necessary," Arnot said.

Shargel told "GMA" last month that he was looking forward to having the late-night host take the stand.

"I'm here to say, 'Not so fast," Shargel said. "I look forward to cross-examining David Letterman, because I don't think the full story is before the public. There's much more to this story. "