LIMBAUGH'S RECORDS OPENED TO PROSECUTORS

Lawyers Investigating Radio Host's Drug Use Look at 'Doctor Shopping'

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Prosecutors investigating whether Rush Limbaugh
illegally went "doctor shopping" for prescription painkillers can examine
his medical records, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The conservative radio commentator accused prosecutors of going after him
for political reasons, and his attorney promptly appealed the ruling.

Circuit Judge Jeffrey Winikoff said authorities have a compelling interest
in determining whether Limbaugh broke the law, which trumps his right to
keep his medical records private. The judge said prosecutors cannot make
the records public.

Palm Beach County prosecutors say they need to review the records to
determine how much Limbaugh's doctors knew about his frequent prescriptions
for hydrocodone, OxyContin and other painkillers, and whether he was
"doctor shopping."

That term refers to looking for a doctor willing to prescribe drugs
illegally or getting prescriptions for a single drug from more than one doctor.

"Those records are the only way to clarify the violation of law that we're
investigating," prosecutor James Martz argued.

Investigators seized records from Florida and California doctors last month
after finding Limbaugh received more than 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by
four doctors, at a pharmacy near his $24 million Palm Beach mansion.

Limbaugh's attorneys say the seizure violated the broadcaster's privacy.
Martz says the records were taken to ensure they were not tampered with or
destroyed.

Limbaugh has admitted his addiction to painkillers, blaming severe back
pain. He took a five-week leave from his afternoon national radio show to
go into rehab.

During his Tuesday show, Limbaugh accused authorities of leaking
information to damage his reputation and said Palm Beach County State
Attorney Barry Krischer, a Democrat, has a political agenda.

"The Democrats still cannot defeat me in the arena of political ideas," he
said, "and so now they're trying to do so in the court of public opinion
and the legal system."

Limbaugh's lawyer, Roy Black, said: "Mr. Limbaugh was not doctor shopping,
and he should not have to sacrifice his privacy to prove his innocence."

Authorities began investigating Limbaugh last year, after his former maid
told them she had supplied him with prescription painkillers for years.

At a hearing Monday, Black said his client suffered from a degenerative
disc disease with "pain so great at one point doctors thought he had bone
cancer."

Limbaugh's former maid, Wilma Cline, threatened to sell the story to The
National Enquirer, Black said. She and her husband demanded millions from
Limbaugh and were "paid substantial amounts," he said.