Letterman Surprise: Halderman Wants a Trial

David Letterman's accused extorter, Joe Halderman, is due in court tomorrow morning, and Felix Gillette reports that he's expected to take the case to trial--so said Dr. Bob Arnot, "a friend and former colleague of Mr. Halderman," over the weekend. Likewise, last week Halderman's lawyer told Newsday that "there's nothing in the pipeline other than preparing a case for trial."

It's been "widely assumed" that Halderman would try to wrap things up quickly with a plea agreement, writes Felix, so this comes as a surprise:

Those assumptions were based in part on widespread reports of Mr. Halderman's financial problems. Mr. Halderman was making roughly $214,000-a-year from CBS at the time of his arrest and owed roughly $6,000 a month in child-support payments to his ex-wife, while also holding a series of hefty mortgages.

Plus, with public sentiment already largely on Letterman's side, a drawn-out battle seems unlikely to win his Halderman any sympathy.