Federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that they have dropped charges against a Maryland lawmaker accused of blackmailing a political commentator by secretly recording him in a compromising situation.
State Sen. Dalia Attar (D), along with her brother and a Baltimore police officer who supported her campaign, faced several charges related to racketeering and conspiracy.
While the victim in this case isn’t named, they are described as a dual Israeli-American citizen and political consultant who aided Attar during her initial campaign for state office but later had a falling out due to disagreements.
The Hill has tried to get in touch with Attar’s office for a response, but neither her brother nor police officer Kalman Finkelstein were available for comments.
The indictment outlines a multi-year scheme involving the use of secret recordings. According to the filing, Attar and her co-conspirators allegedly placed tracking and recording devices in the victim’s car as well as her living room and bedroom in early 2020.
After obtaining these damaging recordings, Attar reportedly began extorting the consultant the following year. Court documents indicate that Attar told the victim in a message that he “needs a warning” before causing additional harm to his campaign.
According to the indictment, Attar remarked, “I believe there is an easy method for us that would be very easy and very likely to get her to shut up and leave her alone.”
In December 2021, Attar’s brother Joseph allegedly showed his girlfriend the secret recordings and urged her to help convince the consultant to stop interacting with the state senator.
Later, the indictment claims that Attar became convinced the consultant was still damaging his campaign. Consequently, her brother reportedly sent multiple threatening messages via WhatsApp in June 2022, stating, “If you leave my family alone, nothing will come of it.”
“Try me, I dare you,” the brothers supposedly wrote.
Attar, a former prosecutor, was appointed to fill a vacancy in the state Senate after six years in the House of Representatives. Notably, she is recognized as the first Orthodox Jew elected to the Maryland State Legislature.
