RUSH LIMBAUGH SAYS AGENTS SEIZED HIS MEDICAL RECORDS IN DRUG PROBE

WEST PALM BEACH - Rush Limbaugh told listeners on his radio show
Thursday that prosecutors in Palm Beach County investigating possible
illegal drug transactions have seized medical records of four doctors
who treated him for serious medical conditions.

Limbaugh, reading from a statement prepared by his attorney Roy Black,
denied any wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of going on a ``fishing
expedition.''

The conservative radio commentator 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, where
Limbaugh owns a $24 million oceanfront mansion, confirmed that a
criminal investigation into a prescription drug ring involved
Limbaugh. His former maid, Wilma Cline, reported supplying him with
OxyContin and other painkillers.

Limbaugh said his doctors' records will clear him.

``What these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain
and had legitimate reasons for taking pain medication. 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,'' Limbaugh said, reading from Black's
statement.

``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.''

The statement also said: ``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.''

Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney's office, declined
comment. Black did not return a call seeking comment.

Last month, a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of
anonymity said authorities were also investigating whether Limbaugh
illegally funneled money to buy prescription painkillers. The radio
host responded with a blanket denial of the allegations during his
third day back on the air.

Authorities learned two years ago during an investigation of U.S.
Trust bank in New York that Limbaugh withdrew cash 30 to 40 times from
his account at amounts just under the $10,000 bank reporting
requirement, ABC News reported last month. A bank employee was
reported to have delivered some cash to Limbaugh.

Following the report, Limbaugh told listeners it was misleading and
said that he had the bank bring cash to him at his New York office
``maybe four times, if that many.'' Otherwise, he said he obtained
cash from a bank in Florida, where he was living.

``When I went to get cash, I took a check to the bank. I went to the
bank officer. I said, `Here's my check,' and they gave me the cash.
There were witnesses to this,'' he said then.