Word: cbs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Stephanie Birkitt, a former assistant to David Letterman, has been in the spotlight before - but never like this. The 34-year-old New Hampshire native is the unwitting link between the Late Show host and his alleged would-be extortionist, CBS News producer Robert "Joe" Halderman. Widespread reports say Birkitt had a romantic relationship with Letterman before his marriage while she was working as his personal assistant and appearing regularly on his program, interviewing celebrities and reporting from the Winter Olympics, among other duties. Until recently, she dated the divorced Halderman and lived in his Connecticut home, where Halderman allegedly...
...CBS staffers who know him said they were baffled by his arrest on Thursday on a charge of attempted grand larceny after he allegedly tried to get Letterman to pay him $2 million for a "screenplay" he was writing about the late-night host's sexual affairs. Halderman has pleaded not guilty to the charge, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. (See the top 10 disastrous David Letterman interviews...
While none of his colleagues would speak on the record, several people indicated that Halderman was well-known around the news division and respected for his hard-charging ways and willingness to take on tough stories. "He's like somebody everyone looked up to," said a CBS News employee who did not want to be named. "48 Hours is a crime show. What could he have been thinking...
...Thursday, the comedian revealed to the audience the extortion plot and confessed to having sex with women on his staff. Birkitt, who is widely believed to be one of those women, has not made any public statements since the show aired or since Halderman was arrested yesterday outside the CBS building in Manhattan...
...last word perhaps belongs to former CBS news anchor Dan Rather, who knew Halderman from his time at the network. "This is obviously a tragedy," Rather told the website the Daily Beast. "Frankly, I couldn't be more astonished ... than if you came riding through my apartment on a hippopotamus...