Dayla Attar Pleads Not Guilty in Blackmailing Scheme

Maryland Sen. Dalya Attar (D-Baltimore City) pleaded not guilty Monday to federal extortion charges alongside her two co-defendants, during a brief appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

A federal grand jury indicted Attar in October, on charges that she attempted to blackmail a political consultant who she feared would spread negative information about her to thwart her 2022 reelection campaign.

Prosecutors allege that Attar’s brother, Joseph Attar, took part in the plot, as did a campaign volunteer, Kalman Finkelstein, a Baltimore City police officer who has been suspended without pay.

Attar, brother and campaign volunteer charged with reelection extortion plot

All three, who were released from federal custody, appeared together in the courtroom Monday morning before Magistrate Judge Douglas R. Miller, each represented by their own attorneys. During the brief proceedings, each defendant rose and affirmed that they understood the charges, before formally entering their pleas.

Judge Miller set a Dec. 15 deadline for pretrial motions, though either side could request an extension.

Jeff Ifrah, an attorney for Dalya Attar, issued a statement after Monday’s hearing that said he plans to file a motion to dismiss the case. Attorneys representing the other two defendants declined to comment following Monday’s proceedings.

Attar, 35, was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2018, as a Democrat representing Baltimore’s District 41, and reelected in 2022. In January, she was appointed to fill the District 41 Senate seat, which became vacant when former Sen. Jill Carter stepped down.

Besides serving in the General Assembly, Attar is a lawyer and a former Baltimore City assistant state’s attorney.

Prosecutors allege that as Attar prepared for her 2022 reelection bid for the House of Delegates, Attar grew concerned that a political consultant, who was not identified in court documents, would attempt to derail her campaign, according to her indictment.

The three defendants, alongside unnamed co-conspirators, colluded to install cameras inside smoke detectors in a room where the consultant was staying, and videotape the consultant having an extramarital affair.

“I just want her to be a non-issue in my mind and in reality that won’t happen as long as she is relevant or doesn’t have anything to worry about,” the then-delegate wrote in a January 2020 message.

Joseph Attar ultimately used the footage to threaten both the consultant and the married man with whom she was having the affair.

Each of the three defendants face charges including conspiracy, extortion and interception and disclosure of a wire, oral or electronic communication.

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