Letterman's Extortionist, Lover IDed in Staffer Affair Scandal

Last night, after his monologue, David Letterman revealed he had been the victim of an attempted extortion. It wasn't until after relating the entire story that Letterman revealed what the blackmail was about: affairs with staffers. He didn't reveal any names, but they are starting to emerge, and in fact one is Stephanie Birkitt, who lived with alleged blackmailer Robert "Joe" Halderman.

There was no hiding the ID of Stephanie Birkitt once Robert J. Halderman was identified as the alleged extortionist. Halderman was arrested yesterday.

Stephanie Birkitt graduated in a 1997 from Wake Forest University. She interned in the writers' department at the "Late Show" in the spring of 1996. Birkitt was a producer on the "Late Show" later, after working on "48 Hours" for a time. Interestingly, Joe Halderman worked as a producer on "48 Hours."

Later, Stephanie Birkitt applied for the job as Dave Letterman's assistant. Although in a 2002 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Birkitt called Letterman "the best boss I've ever had," the affair has been confirmed with by sources, although exact dates remain fuzzy.

RadarOnline.com says that sources tell them that "Birkitt and Letterman slept together for a period of time before he married his girlfriend Regina (sic) had their son Harry" and that Birkitt is "mortified Halderman is using her fling with Letterman to blackmail her boss." Additionally, although Birkitt and Robert J. Halderman had a later relationship, at the time, Halderman was in one of his two marriages.

Meanwhile, additional sources told TMZ that Letterman and Stephanie Birkitt had a sexual relationship that ended before 2003, when his son Harry was born. This confirms the RadarOnline report.

Finally, according to TMZ, it appears that Robert J. Halderman had the goods on Letterman because he "was in possession of Birkitt's diary, correspondence and photos -- which he says incriminated Letterman."

Other reports indicate that Stephanie Birkitt and Halderman had split, perhaps providing him with the need for revenge. Or maybe it was just all about the $2 million in extortion money he wanted. It would be surprising no other women, or reports of women, become public.

Watch his video confession: