ATTORNEY: LIMBAUGH BLACKMAILED BY EX-MAID

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rush Limbaugh paid "substantial" blackmail to a
former maid before she told law enforcement and a tabloid newspaper about
his addiction to prescription painkillers, his attorney told a judge Monday.

Attorney Roy Black said Limbaugh could not complain to authorities about
the maid's demand for $4 million because they would use the information
against him, and that the maid and her husband "bled him dry" before going
public anyway.

The claim was made during a court hearing where Black asked that medical
records related to Limbaugh be kept secret. The seizure of the records from
doctors in Florida and California violated the conservative radio
commentator's privacy, Black argued.

Palm Beach County prosecutors insist they need to review the records, which
are sealed, to determine how much Limbaugh's doctors knew about his
frequent prescriptions for OxyContin, hydrocodone and other painkillers.

Assistant State Attorney James Martz said judges approved the warrants
after investigators discovered Limbaugh received more than 2,000
painkillers, prescribed by four doctors, at a pharmacy near his $24 million
mansion.

"Now the next question is did those doctors know about each other?" Martz
said. Reviewing the records would be the only way to determine if Limbaugh
violated the law by withholding information from his doctors - and went
"doctor shopping" for drugs.

Limbaugh's attorneys outlined a defense against accusations that he
illegally used prescription painkillers and laundered money to finance his
drug habit.

Black said Limbaugh suffered from a degenerative disc disease with "pain so
great at one point doctors thought he had bone cancer," and that Limbaugh
chose to take addictive painkillers rather than have surgery.

Surgery would have meant doctors would have gone through Limbaugh's throat
to operate on his spine, which could threaten his career as a commentator,
Black said.

Limbaugh's former maid, Wilma Cline, learned of his addiction and
threatened to sell the story to The National Enquirer. She and her husband,
David Cline, demanded millions and were "paid substantial amounts of
money," the lawyer said.

The couple "bled him dry" and then went to authorities to gain immunity
from prosecutors before selling their story for $250,000 to the Enquirer,
Black said. The tabloid ran a story in October, days before Limbaugh
announced he would enter a drug rehabilitation program, alleging they
supplied him drugs for years.

Black said Limbaugh paid money to the Clines because they were blackmailing
him - not because he was laundering money.

"It's not money laundering to pay blackmail and extortion," Black said.

Ed Shohat, the attorney for the Clines, denied Black's allegation.

"Rush Limbaugh confessed and admitted that he bought the pills. ... I know
of no facts that my clients demanded money from Rush Limbaugh in any way,"
he said.

Limbaugh allegedly withdrew cash 30 to 40 times at amounts just under the
$10,000 limit that requires a bank to report the transaction to the federal
government.

The action drew suspicion because it can be a federal crime to structure
financial transactions below the $10,000 limit.

"This would never happen except this guy's name is Rush Limbaugh," Black
said about the financial probe. "There's a double standard."

Martz declined to comment after the hearing.

Judge Jeffrey A. Winikoff did not say when he would decide whether the
records should be unsealed.