Comedian David Letterman did not tell the whole story when he described himself as the victim of a US$2 million extortion plot by a TV news producer, an attorney for the producer said yesterday.
In interviews with U.S. network news shows, attorney Gerald Shargel, who is representing Robert "Joe" Halderman, said his client is innocent and the accusations against him do not make sense.
"David Letterman didn't give his (Halderman's) side of the story, David Letterman gave what he wanted the public to know," Shargel said on NBC's Today show.
"He wanted to get out ahead of the story, and that's exactly what he did," Shargel said of Letterman.
Shargel said it was unlikely that Halderman would have sought to extort Letterman by taking a $2 million cheque, because that is not how extortionists normally operate.
"In the history of extortions, I don't believe there has ever been a case where someone was paid by cheque," Shargel told ABC's Good Morning America.
Halderman was arrested and charged Friday in New York with attempted grand larceny in the blackmail scheme. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Letterman said this week that he had affairs with female members of staff, including one Stephanie Birkitt, says In Entertainment.
Apparently Birkitt kept a diary on the subject, which has now been confiscated by the authorities.
