Rush returns Monday

Discussion in 'Politics' started by AAAintheBeltway, Nov 13, 2003.

  1. From Susan Candiotti
    CNN
    Thursday, December 4, 2003 Posted: 7:59 PM EST (0059 GMT)

    (CNN) -- Criminal investigators are searching doctors' offices for evidence that conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh was "doctor shopping" for controlled substances, according to search warrants filed in the clerk's office of the Palm Beach County, Florida, State Attorney's office.

    "His actions violate the letter and spirit" of Florida law, criminal investigators said.

    The term "doctor shopping" commonly means a patient -- who may or may not have a legitimate physical ailment -- goes from doctor to doctor with the objective of improperly obtaining multiple prescriptions for prescription painkillers.

    Limbaugh allegedly received doctors' prescriptions for more than 2,000 pills -- including the prescription painkillers oxycontin, lorcet and hydrocodone -- according to the search warrants.

    The court papers indicate those drugs were sometimes obtained in the same week, less than a month apart.

    Limbaugh returned to the airwaves last month after a five-week rehabilitation program to help him overcome his addiction.

    Limbaugh's lawyer, famed criminal defense attorney Roy Black, denounced the searches of Limbaugh's physicians' offices and the seizure of his medical records.

    "What these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain and had legitimate reasons for taking pain medication," Black said in a statement read by Limbaugh on his talk show.

    "Unfortunately, because of Mr. Limbaugh's prominence and well-known political opinions, he is being subjected to an invasion of privacy no citizen of this republic should endure," he said.

    The court documents state that Limbaugh used multiple doctors "to obtain excessive amounts of controlled substances to support his addiction."

    Investigators say they have searched two doctors' offices in Palm Beach County and have a search warrant for a third office in that area. A law enforcement source said there is also a search warrant for a fourth doctor's office in the Los Angeles area.

    Black said the four doctors whose offices were searched had "treated Rush Limbaugh for serious medical conditions and the pain resulting from them.

    "Let us make our position clear: Rush Limbaugh is not part of a drug ring. He was never a target of a drug investigation. He became addicted to a prescription drug during legitimate medical treatment. He has publicly admitted this problem and has successfully sought treatment, which continues today.

    "We won't speculate on why the State Attorney's Office is handling Mr. Limbaugh's case the way it is. But what should be a responsible investigation is looking more and more like a fishing expedition," Black said.

    Law enforcement sources tell CNN they are continuing to conduct a criminal investigation of the popular and outspoken talk show host as part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal sale of prescription painkillers.

    Police are investigating claims by Limbaugh's former housekeeper that she illegally sold Limbaugh thousands of prescription painkillers.

    Neither she nor Limbaugh has been charged with any crime.

    The commentator's radio show is syndicated on about 600 radio stations nationwide and reaches an audience of about 14 million people each week.
     
    #141     Dec 4, 2003
  2. Oh yea, Rush is really in recovery....I think step 14 is what he is working on now....


    Dec 5, 5:32 PM (ET)

    By JILL BARTON


    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Rush Limbaugh on Friday poked fun at the investigation into whether he bought painkillers illegally, hours after his attorney accused investigators of political motives.

    The conservative radio host compared search warrants for his medical records to calls for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean to release political records from his years as Vermont governor.

    "I bet you what, if I had been treated by Dr. Dean, I bet you Democrats in certain parts of this country would be demanding his records," Limbaugh said from his South Florida studio.

    Palm Beach investigators recently obtained search warrants for the offices of Limbaugh's doctors and alleged Thursday that Limbaugh engaged in illegal drug use and went "doctor shopping" for prescription painkillers.

    His brief reference to the investigation came during his three-hour broadcast, which he has used over past weeks to defend himself.

    Earlier Friday, Limbaugh attorney Roy Black accused the Palm Beach state attorney of investigating Limbaugh only for political reasons. Black said Limbaugh was not a target of State Attorney Barry Krischer's investigation until the National Enquirer quoted Limbaugh's maid in October saying she had unlawfully sold Limbaugh such medications.

    "Suddenly an elected public official could not ignore the name Rush Limbaugh," Black said on NBC's "Today" show. Black is also a paid NBC commentator. "They are looking to publicly embarrass him and affect his radio program. ... Why is Rush Limbaugh the only person treated like this in America?"

    Black did not immediately return a call Friday from The Associated Press.

    Krischer's spokesman Mike Edmondson said Friday that the prosecutor stands by an earlier statement that Limbaugh's rights have been scrupulously protected.

    Krischer said Thursday, "Whether Mr. Limbaugh is subject to prosecution for any crimes is still under investigation. Mr. Limbaugh is presumed innocent."

    Krischer's office began investigating Limbaugh 10 months before the Enquirer story, after prosecutors met with the former maid, Wilma Cline. She told them she sold Limbaugh "large quantities of hydrocodone, Oxycontin and other pharmaceutical drugs in Palm Beach County over the course of many years."

    Cline provided investigators with e-mails and answering machine recordings to support her claims. Investigators then examined records from Palm Beach pharmacies near Limbaugh's $24 million oceanfront mansion that they say support the doctor-shopping allegations.

    The warrants list prescriptions for more than 2,000 pills from March 24 through Sept. 26. from four doctors. The medications include the powerful painkillers Oxycontin, Lorcet, Norco, hydrocodone and Kadian. In addition, Limbaugh received prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and Clonodine, used to treat high blood pressure.
     
    #142     Dec 6, 2003
  3. It's obvious to me that Rush is being singled out in an effort to silence the most important conservative voice in the country. Where are the liberal defenders of the First Amendment who are so quick to man the barricades to defend the free speech rights of gansta rappers, pornographers and the Dixie Chicks? Since when do drug pushers and possible extortionists, like his former maid, get off scot free and their victims get the shaft? Because he's a big name? Or because the Democrats in Florida see a golden opportunity to pull the plug on the golden EIB microphone?

    It's clear what must be done. Flordia Governor Jeb Bush and President Bush must immediately issue a pardon to Rush for any crimes he may have committed. They owe Rush that much. 20 million dittohead Republican voters are waiting to see if they do the right thing.
     
    #143     Dec 6, 2003
  4. Gag me. He's a slimy disgusting ass-kisser. And now we know he's a druggie, too. Your post is perfect parody even though you don't get it. ROFLMAO

    m
     
    #144     Dec 6, 2003
  5. Rush is the most important conservative voice in the country?

    You have a drug addict as the most important voice in the country?

    What has become of the conservative party when a drug addict is considered the most important voice by his followers?

    What you really have is denial that there is a problem by the followers, you have denial that he broke the law, and you have denial that Rush is being treated unlike any drug addict who bought the law should be treated.

    If doctors were breaking the law by enabling Rush's addiction, should they not be held accountable?

    If Rush broke the law, should he not be investigated?

    If investigation of Rush leads to drug dealers who deal in illegal prescription drugs, shouldn't we investigate to find that out?

    Rush has every right to be investigated, and to my knowledge none action of the investigation has violated his rights. If his rights had been violated, his attorney would be doing a lot more of just spinning accusations he cannot support. He would be filing motions in court like a mother. His attorney knows nothing wrong is actually being done, or he would take measure to stop it.

    Come on AAA, lets get tough on crime!

    The idea that the president should issue a pardon (pardons are only required of the guilty, aren't they?) to keep Rush on the radio is the biggest piece of political crap I have ever heard of. If Rush is guilty, he should be processed and treated just like any other criminal.

    Or do you now have a vision of the woman holding the scales of justice with only her "right" eye open and the left eye shut?

    Really, your thinking on this one is waaaay off.
     
    #145     Dec 6, 2003
  6. This "investigation" of Rush is just soooo transparent. Right out of the Clinton playbook. Abuse the prosecutorial arm of government to intimidate or silence your poltical opponents. Clinton used the IRS to go after every conservative foundation in the country. He used the Arkansas Highway Patrol as his personal gestapo when he was governor. He used scumbag private eyes and lapdog "journalists' to defame, demean and intimidate women he had sexually abused. I give the Democrats credit for being willing to play hardball. Certainly the Republicans seem to lack the guts for this kind of thing, but at least they can stop it.

    Rush is clearly being singled out. It is undisputed that he had a serious medical condition and his addiction to painkillers grew out of that. For the prosecutors to subpoena his private medical records is a gross invasion of privacy. It is pretty obvious what they are doing. They're using this drug thing as a pretext to get at his medical records, and desperately hoping they can find more embarrassing material. They've already released the confidential records that he was using xanax. Nothing illegal there, so why was it released?

    If the Bushes lack the cojones to pardon Rush, then at the least Jeb Bush should direct the state prosecutors office to take over the investigation. This is too important a matter to trust to some politically motivated local prosecutor.
     
    #146     Dec 6, 2003
  7. In your eyes everything the "left" does is political, and everything the "right" does is non-political and always correct.

    Your partisanship is really blinding you on this one.

    Repeat:

    If anything is that is being done is wrong, illegal, etc., Black will do more than flap his gums and try to introduce a red herring.

    I bet you don't even know if the prosecutor in this case is republican or democrat.

    How do you know that the evidence Wilma Kline presented to authorities doesn't support an full investigation?

    If Rush is innocent, what does he have to hide?

    Anyone who knows about the drug addict's recovery process knows that recovery depends on coming out of denial and secrecy. If Rush is a drug addict in recovery (his own comments) then why would he care if information came out of his drug use? That was then, right, not now?

    I would think Rush would long for a full investigation to clear the air and eliminate all possible doubt at this point.

    Either he broke the law, or he didn't. If he didn't break the law, why make a fuss, and let the process work its way through the system.

    If the D.A. ignored evidence that any other reasonable prosecutor would investigate, that would not only be malpractice but would raise the question of whether or not the prosecutor was being unduly influenced politically by Bush and company. Bush is absolutely right to stand aside and let the system work.

    If Bush stepped in now and perhaps obstructed justice, that would be a major blunder on the side of the conservatives.

    By allowing them to do their job, it shows that they are "just doing their job."

    It is a poor defense that Black is attacking the process. Same defense that Geragos employs with Michael Jackson. Attack the credibility and motives of the prosecutors....without offering up any proof of misconduct. Common tactic, and most people are getting sick of hearing Geragos and Black throw up this kind of smoke screen.

    We both know that if the exact same thing were happening to James Carville, you would be silent on the issue.

    Doesn't it suck when the political process doesn't go your way?

    Maybe it comes down to this:

    Without Rush on the radio, maybe you wouldn't know what to think any more.


     
    #147     Dec 6, 2003

  8. MORE EXCUSES. HE IS GETTIN HIGH LIKE EVERY OTHER ADDICT. I CANT WAIT TO SEE THAT FAT PRICK RUSH GO DOWN!! LAND ON THAT F*CKER HARD!! HA!
     
    #148     Dec 6, 2003
  9. Brandonf

    Brandonf Sponsor

    I am a republican, I generally agree with what Rush says...howerver...No one will become addicted to MS Contin, Oxycontin etc with LEGITIMATE TREATMENT FOR PAIN. Whether it is Rush who was at fault or the doctors (its probably a bit of both) is probably what they are trying to find out with all of the legal stuff now.

    Brandon
     
    #149     Dec 6, 2003