LIMBAUGH LAWYER BLAMES POLITICS IN PROBE

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)-- Rush Limbaugh's attorney accused a prosecutor
Friday of having political motives for investigating whether the
conservative radio commentator bought painkillers illegally.

In search warrants released Thursday, investigators alleged that Limbaugh
engaged in illegal drug use and went "doctor shopping" for prescription
painkillers.

Investigators said they were looking for medical, insurance and appointment
records for Limbaugh as well as cash receipts and prescription forms during
raids of two doctor's offices Nov. 25. The warrants say Limbaugh
"alternated physicians to obtain overlapping prescriptions" and failed to
tell each doctor that he was seeing others."

Limbaugh denied any wrongdoing to listeners on his show Thursday. Reading
from a statement prepared by his attorney, Roy Black, Limbaugh said medical
records will clear him.

"What these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain and had
legitimate reasons for taking pain medication," Limbaugh read.
"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."

Black said Friday that Limbaugh didn't become a target of State Attorney
Barry Krischer's painkiller probe 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?"

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

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

Prosecutors began investigating in December 2002 after Limbaugh's former
maid, Wilma Cline, 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, according to the warrants, filed in Palm Beach
County Circuit Court.

The medical offices were raided after investigators examined records from
Palm Beach pharmacies near Limbaugh's $24 million oceanfront mansion that
they say support the doctor-shopping allegations.

The records seized list prescriptions for more than 2,100 pills from March
24 through Sept. 26. The medications include the powerful painkillers
Oxycontin, Lorcet, Norco, hydrocodone and Kadian. In addition, Limbaugh
received prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, the
cholesterol-lowering drug Niacin, and Clonodine, which treats high blood
pressure.

Two of the four search warrants were executed at the offices of Jupiter
Outpatient Surgery Center. A third was executed at Palm Beach Ear, Nose and
Throat Association in Palm Beach Gardens. A fourth for the same location
has not yet been executed.

The physicians named in the warrants are Nathaniel Drourr, Antonio De La
Cruz, Lawrence Deziel and John Murray.

Drourr and officials at both centers declined comment, citing privacy laws.
Murray did not return a phone call seeking comment, and the other doctors
could not be immediately reached.

Limbaugh was absent from his show for five weeks recently while spending
time at a drug rehabilitation program because of his addiction to
prescription painkillers.

Previously, law enforcement sources in Palm Beach County confirmed that a
criminal investigation into a prescription drug ring involved Limbaugh.

Last month, a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity
said authorities also were investigating the money trail related to
Limbaugh's drug purchases.

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.