[Joy Behar:] Tonight on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, Jon and Kate will be together for Christmas. Maybe Santa will drop some mood stabilizers in their stockings. Also the guy accused of shaking down David Letterman says he was only making a sales pitch. I`m going to make him an offer he can`t refuse. Then I`ll ask tennis champ, Serena Williams, about girls going wild on the playing field. Male athletes brawling is old news but now it seems as though female players have joined the fight club. All this and a second serving of Paula Dean tonight. Good news, the eight Gosselin children will be spending Christmas together. The bad news, their parents are going to be there too. Joining me tonight are Faith Salie, commentator and writer for Slate.com. Robin Sax, former prosecutor and author of "It Happens Every Day inside the World of a Sex Crime DA" and Penn Jillette, magician extraordinaire and libertarian extraordinaire. Welcome guys. So these kids are going to have Christmas with their parents.
[Faith Salie, Writer, Slate.com:] Thank God.
[Behar:] Do you think it`s good?
[Salie:] I think it`s good for all of us. I think that...
[Behar:] Why?
[Sailee:] ... the Gosselins sort of embody the spirit of Christmas which is giving. They`ve given us comedic fodder and Halloween wigs and another reason to hate Ed Hardy, it`s good.
[Behar:] But don`t they what about the children? Now, what about the children, is Santa going to show up with like reindeer?
[Salie:] Michael Lohan will be dressed as Santa.
[Behar:] Who?
[Salie:] Michael Lohan, Jon`s best friend.
[Behar:] I don`t even know who he is.
[Salie:] Lindsay`s, it`s Lindsay Lohan`s dad.
[Behar:] Oh, the Lohan guy. Yes, yes.
[Penn Jillette, Magician/libertarian:] She was studying your notes. You know this guy.
[Robin Sax, Former Prosecutor:] Oh in know, it`s the important thing.
[Jillette:] Wow.
[Behar:] Yes, you know, it`s this and the Freud and this.
[Sax:] The gift that keeps on giving only to us though.
[Behar:] But the cops were called in to mediate. What about the children, doesn`t it give them a false sense of security to be around these two at Christmas thinking that they`re then going to be going together again?
[Sax:] Well, I certainly think that from a legal perspective that whoever made the decision that joint custody meant joint Christmas wasn`t really thinking about the best interests of the children. They were thinking about the best interests of ratings and fodder for people like us to talk about.
[Behar:] Well, I don`t think it`s not going to be on television, it`s not going to be televised but that brings me to the next question, which is because it`s not going to be televised, do you think that they`re doing this, the Gosselins, to get on television? Is that too cynical of me, Penn?
[Jillette:] Well, I don`t know if somebody that has a show with their name on it can accuse people of going for publicity. I mean, I have a few of them with my name on it. You have show with your name on it. I think, well, that`s the way we see it, I guess. But I don`t know, is it good for the children for people and all over America to be discussing how they`re going to spend their Christmas?
[Behar:] Probably not and the way these two are acting, these two have been slamming each other in public. Let`s look at this.
[Jon Gosselin, "jon & Kate Plus 8":] I was beaten down. I was she separated me from my family. And she used to hold the kids over my head and say, you know, "Don`t spend time with your mom, spend time with your kids."
[Kate Gosselin, Jon & Kate Plus 8:] He took $230,000 of the $231,000 that we have liquid. And I have a stack of bills in my purse I can`t drop in the mail.
[Salie:] If that`s what they do in public...
[Behar:] Yes.
[Salie:] How are they going to be with each other in private?
[Behar:] Yes.
[Salie:] I mean, Jon did say that he wants...
[Behar:] Maybe they do it in public and not in private. Don`t you think of that?
[Salie:] Well then, it would be good for the kids.
[Jillette:] There is no privacy is left, isn`t it?
[Sax:] That`s right and everything is for the both of the show, no matter what indirectly or directly, whether it`s televised or not, it`s still part of this whole publicity package.
[Salie:] And she did Jon did say that he wanted the kids together to have all their old traditions which I think...
[Behar:] Yes.
[Salie:] ... is like Kate hanging his balls on the tree things like that. So I hope that the kids have that at least.
[Behar:] Jon`s nuts roasting on the open fire. Ok, let`s change topics.
[Jillette:] It`s your show.
[Behar:] It is. I mean, unless you have anything else you want to add to that.
[Salie:] We`ll leave it at nuts, Joy.
[Behar:] Yes, this whatever. The Letterman mess, ok. The latest news from court is that the man accused of trying to extort the late night host insists it was merely a business proposal gone horribly wrong and his lawyers are digging in for a long fight. Will people be able to have sex at work again, ever again? I mean, what do you think about that story? Do you think its extortion or is it just that he was trying to sell a screenplay?
[Salie:] You`re the lawyer.
[Behar:] Yes, let`s hear it from the lawyer.
[Sax:] As a defense attorney, this is the classic defense muddying up the waters. Let`s start throwing out the defense really early on and tainting our potential jury pool and making it think that it is a deal, a movie deal gone bad. However, why are we at 6:30 in the morning seeing this man in David Letterman, the back of his car, why are we having mysterious dealings? And why is this something that smells a lot more like stalking and revenge than it does sound like the way traditional movies are done?
[Behar:] What do you think about that Penn?
[Jillette:] Well, I think stalking and revenge is the backbone of show business. I mean, I think that every showbiz business deal would look that way anyway.
[Salie:] Right.
[Jillette:] I don`t know, I mean...
[Behar:] There`s a point.
[Salie:] Yes.
[Jillette:] ... you said it was a business deal gone bad. I think that`s the definition of extortion, isn`t it? I mean...
[Behar:] I know, you`re the lawyer. Is that the definition of extortion?
[Sax:] No, extortion is not the definition to be as a business deal going bad but it is using and threatening to use or misuse someone`s position and to cast someone in a bad light and get money or get some sort of benefit in exchange for not revealing that information. And I see that all of the elements are right there. Granted that the check writing happened, but that was all at that point after the police were contacted.
[Behar:] But they could make the case that he`s really just he slipped him the screenplay at 6:00 in the morning. It`s as good a time as any to give to a celebrity that you`re not going have a chance to see any other time.
[Salie:] Oh but he gave it to his driver.
[Behar:] All right, it`s the driver and then he gave it...
[Sax:] With the condition I`m not going to tell about your sexual escapades. Let`s not forget that very key part. And let`s look at what David Letterman subjectively felt. And he felt that he was being used for money, which I think is an important part of an element of where this is.
[Behar:] Is that admissible, how I felt?
[Sax:] It is.
[Jillette:] But it is interesting with blackmail that it`s one of the only crimes that only becomes a crime when there`s money involved; it`s like prostitution that way.
[Behar:] Yes.
[Jillette:] He could have said all that stuff and be absolutely ok...
[Behar:] Without, without the $2 million.
[Salie:] Right.
[Jillette:] ... but if blackmail is a fairly recent crime, right, the past 200 years or so. I mean, though, really, it`s not one that goes back like murder and you know, all the way back.
[Behar:] Well, let`s hear from the other side, Letterman`s attorney spoke to "Good Morning America." Listen.
[Daniel J. Horwitz, Attorney For David Letterman:] Who negotiates a business transaction at 6:00 in the morning in the shadows of somebody`s apartment building? Who says your world is about to collapse? Who threatens their personal and professional lives? And who says at 6:00 in the morning I need an answer in two hours? Those are not the ear marks of a legitimate business transaction; those are the ear marks of classic blackmail.
[Behar:] Did anyone ever try to sell you something at 6:00 in the morning, Penn?
[Jillette:] I believe people try to sell me something at every time of the day and night.
[Behar:] Would you buy that, or you bought it?
[Jillette:] I`m not sure what they`re selling at 6:00 in the morning, I want. But people I mean I think it`s pretty clear that there`s that that`s a pretty fake defense. But...
[Behar:] Well, let`s say, let me say, for example, Letterman is always doing jokes about Sarah Palin and he got in trouble with the daughter and that whole thing. What if Sarah Palin`s people called him up and said, look, we`ll give you an interview if you stop doing the jokes. Is that blackmail? Is that quid pro quo? What is that? Because no money is exchanged, it`s not considered blackmail? What does the lawyer say?
[Sax:] Well, no, that wouldn`t be blackmail. I mean, that could be that would be a business dealing because that is happening on a phone call that happens within the regular course of business and it`s not being done to not make to ensure that private information is not out in the public. We need to look at what the information and the subject of what was being extortable. It was not in the course of business.
[Behar:] I see.
[Salie:] And there`s not the threat that your whole world will collapse around you, which is what Halderman said. I mean, I know Hollywood players, you guys have been in pitch meetings and they usually involve like bottled water and parking validations and not...
[Behar:] Ok.
[Salie:] ... the threat that buy this or the whole world will collapse around you. That doesn`t work. I`ve tried to get engaged in that way and it doesn`t...
[Jillette:] It feels that way.
[Behar:] Do you think that there was somebody said why didn`t he just give them the money and shut up and it would have gone away.
[Sax:] Well, I`m sure that`s probably happened to many, many celebrities before and good for David Letterman for coming out in order to make these things stop. I`m sure a lot of people have paid these people off.
[Behar:] The defendant`s lawyer said Letterman`s celebrity is why we`re here today, in court. What do you think of that? Because I mean, if Joe Schmo has an affair with Mary Bakery, who cares right? But he`s a big star and so that`s why we`re here.
[Jillette:] I didn`t even know about a Schmo and...
[Behar:] Oh, it was a torrid it was a torrid affair, oh, they were hot.
[Sax:] I don`t know, I think actually Letterman`s celebrity is to his disadvantage in this case because people are looking at him as to whether he made a good choice of having sex with someone, one of his colleague. And now he`s being criticized, so I don`t know that his celebrity is helping him in this matter.
[Jillette:] Well, I hope it is the celebrity is what`s horrible about it. I mean you wouldn`t have that much power without the celebrity. I mean he`s being punished for being very, very famous and successful.
[Behar:] Yes.
[Salie:] I think the lesson to be learned is to date age- appropriate women for both of those men.
[Behar:] That isn`t going to happen...
[Salie:] Because a woman in her 50s would never journal about work.
[Behar:] And that`s not going to happen, you`re going to have to get into reality, my dear...
[Salie:] All right, I`m sorry.
[Beahr:] Because that will never happen. Shall we have do another story? I don`t think we have time. So we`re going to take a break and then we`ll be back with whatever, I don`t know. It`s coming up.