The diary of a woman who works on "The Late Show With David Letterman" and dated extortion suspect Robert Halderman reportedly provided the basis for the blackmail attempt.
Stephanie Birkitt lived with Halderman until August. She still works on the CBS late-night show, where she was an assistant to Letterman and appeared on-camera with him in comedy bits.
She also has worked on CBS’ "48 Hours Mystery," where Halderman is employed.
Halderman allegedly copied parts of Birkitt’s diary, containing details of her affair with the talk show host, and tried to use the information to blackmail Letterman for $2 million.
The Associated Press attributed its information on the diary to a law enforcement official who did not want to be identified.
Halderman entered a not-guilty plea in court last week to one count of attempted first-degree grand larceny.
Letterman last week revealed details of the alleged extortion attempt on his show; he also admitted he had had sex with women who worked for him on "Late Show."
Halderman’s attorney, Gerald Shargel, said Monday the charge against his client is "so obviously out of character to the point of not making any sense."
CBS said it had no comment.
