FLORIDA AG SAYS PROSECUTORS HID FACTS OVER LETTERS

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The state attorney general's office
questioned yesterday the motives of local prosecutors who released
letters from Rush Limbaugh's attorney, accusing them of hiding facts
in the case.

When prosecutors released the letters last week, they cited support
from the attorney general's office and the Florida Bar. But both
groups now have contradicted the prosecutors.

The letters detail discussions between prosecutors and Limbaugh's
attorney over whether the conservative radio commentator would plead
guilty to doctor shopping for prescription painkillers.

Limbaugh has not been arrested, and no charges have been filed in the
monthslong investigation.

State general counsel Patricia R. Gleason told Palm Beach County
prosecutor Ken Selvig in a letter yesterday that it seemed he had
hidden the fact that the matter involved Limbaugh when he consulted
her.

Gleason accused Selvig of using "part of our conversation to justify
your office's decision that the documents should be released." Selvig
responded that he had no such motive, and said he and Gleason agreed
that no legal exemption applied to keep the records private.

The Florida Bar also raised concern about whether the letters should
be released, saying last week that they "are not normally to be
revealed" and that prosecutors should ask a court to decide.

In his response to Gleason, Selvig quoted the state's public records
guide, which states "an agency receiving a public records [request]
cannot ask a court to intervene."

Limbaugh attorney Roy Black called yesterday for an investigation into
a "smear campaign" by prosecutors. The letters show that prosecutors
rejected a deal Black suggested that would have let Limbaugh enter a
drug intervention program rather than face charges of illegally
obtaining prescription painkillers.

Instead, Palm Beach County prosecutors wanted Limbaugh, 53, to plead
guilty to the third-degree felony of "doctor shopping" -- visiting
several doctors to receive duplicate prescriptions of a controlled
narcotic.

The prosecutors' offer included three years' probation, participation
in a drug treatment program, and random drug testing.

Prosecutors began their investigation of Limbaugh, 53, last year,
after his former maid told them she was his longtime supplier of
prescription painkillers.