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Halderman: The defense
Well, it looks like this is the heart of Gerald Shargels' defense for indicted/allged extortionist, Joe Halderman.
This is pulled directly from Jennifer Peltz's story for the AP, filed about half an hour ago:
"I have no plans to do anything other than either sell you this option — this screenplay — to you and therefore you own the story. Or if you don't and you're not interested, as I've said, then that's fine, and I will proceed, and I will do what I want to do, which is what I've been thinking about doing, anyway — which is writing a book," Halderman told Letterman's lawyer in one of the taped exchanges, according to the filing.
Letterman's lawyer said criminal charges would follow if Halderman released the information himself, the filing said. Halderman, it said, responded: "I don't agree with your position on that."My insta-uninformed read: Most of us following this from the excruciating beginning figured this was exactly what Joe Halderman's defense would eventually be and some scoffed at the very idea - 'Oh, right - you're doing a screenplay on his alleged affairs, Joe, and Dave would just love to be a producer attached to this scintillating tale, would he not?"
The twist here, apparently, is the bit about a "book" and it's not entirely irrelevant. Could Halderman have actually shopped this to some publisher and gotten some kind of advance - just aking this assertion at face value? I kind of doubt that very much...though publishers have been known to hang books on flimsier pretexts.
But the question, the only question, is what the judge thinks and next the jury. They wouldn't buy this argument in a million years. I'm guessing Halderman wants a plea bargain as badly or worse than Letterman.
Tags: joe halderman , gerald shargel , david letterman , extortion
