A Democratic lawmaker in Maryland has been charged with eight counts in a sexual blackmail scheme, the New York Post reported.

35-year-old Maryland State Senator Dalya Attar allegedly made secret recordings of her ex-consultant in bed with a married man and threatened to expose the footage, according to reports. Attar was indicted along with her brother, Joseph Attar, and a Baltimore cop, Kalman Finkelstein.

Dem's blackmail scheme

In January of this year, Attar became the first Orthodox Jewish woman in the Maryland State Senate after she was appointed to fill a vacancy.

The police in Baltimore reportedly suspended Finkelstein's police powers in 2022, and he has been put on administrative leave.

The blackmail scheme sought to damage Attar's rival, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel, and ruin her daughters' marital prospects unless the consultant agreed to keep quiet about Attar's voting record.

The consultant had worked on Attar's 2018 campaign in the Maryland House of Delegates, but they became enemies at some point for unclear reasons.

From that point on, Attar became obsessed with silencing her ex-employee, fearing she would sabotage Attar's re-election in 2022.

In one March 2021 WhatsApp message, Attar wrote that her rival "wants her daughters to get married more than she wants to screw me … That’s the perfect way to scare her re her daughters shidduchim [arranged marriages] … Each mailer can do a lot of damage. We have a way that can potentially stop her. Why not at least try.”

Threatening daughters

In January of 2020, Attar and her accomplices had hidden cameras installed at an apartment where the consultant and her lover met.

“Damn, I wish I had [the man’s] stamina,” Finkelstein wrote in one message.

At one point, in December 2021, Attar's brother approached the married man and warned he would leak the video to "every Rabbi in town, your kids, your wife, her daughters."

The married man responded that the consultant posed no threat, adding, "You have everything you asked for. Put it to bed. Leave me the hell alone.”

But Attar continued to fixate on her rival, at one point fretting over an April 2022 Facebook post in which the consultant criticized Attar's voting record.

“She needs to know we’re serious,” Attar said at one point, later adding: “It’s time to show [the bedroom footage] to someone that’ll get back to her.”

"Her post didn’t get any traction so this one is not a big deal … I just don’t want her to get comfortable and start posting again."

Heavy charges

In a statement, Senator Attar said: "I ran for public office because of my strong belief in serving my community that I love, and I would never do anything to knowingly jeopardize my constituents' trust in me."

"The case centers on the allegations of my former disgruntled employee. We have yet to see any tangible evidence to support the claim that I knew of any illegal actions taken on my behalf."

"I look forward to sharing my side of the story, and believe the truth will be the arbiter of justice. In the meantime, I will continue to serve my community with humility and honor, and look forward to being as transparent as possible."

Attar and her co-conspirators are charged with extortion, conspiracy, unlawful disclosure of communications, and use of interstate facilities to commit a crime. They face approximately 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts.