David Letterman Case: It wasn't extortion, honest!

Now it can be revealed: the legal tactic that Joe Halderman will use to assert his innocence. According to the New York Times, Halderman "was simply trying to sell a story, not extort money."

His lawyer, Gerald L. Shargel, is seeking to have the attempted grand larceny charge against his client dismissed. “This was a commercial transaction,” he told reporters at the courthouse. “It was nothing more.”

Writes the Times' John Eligon: "What Mr. Halderman did was legal because the information he possessed had its own independent value – meaning that, even without going to Mr. Letterman first, a third party, such as a book publisher or movie producer, would have paid for it, according to the motion."

So Halderman wasn't trying to blackmail Letterman -- he was simply trying to peddle a heartwarming tale of a talk show host... and the women who loved him. If Dave had said no, he probably could have sold it to "Law & Order."

The broadcaster's lawyer, Daniel J. Horwitz, stated that despite his client's three decades in the biz, Letterman has never been accused of sexual harassment. “Mr. Letterman is not on trial,” Mr. Horwitz said. “Any attempt to focus attention on Mr. Letterman, who’s the victim in this case, is an attempt to divert attention away from Mr. Halderman.”