Limbaugh Fails In Privacy Bid

Prosecutors can examine Rush Limbaugh's medical records to determine whether he should be charged with "doctor shopping" for prescription painkillers, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jeffrey A. Winikoff denied the conservative commentator's request to keep the records sealed.

Limbaugh's attorneys had argued that the seizure of the records from doctors in Florida and California violated the radio host's privacy. Investigators obtained the records last month after discovering that Limbaugh received more than 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors, at a pharmacy near his $24 million Palm Beach mansion.

Limbaugh now can appeal the ruling.

"This doesn't necessarily mean that the whole world will see these records now," notes CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "It just means that prosecutors will be able to look at them to see whether they suggest criminal conduct or not. If there is a trial at some point down the road this issue will come up again only if prosecutors seek to show this evidence to jurors in open court."

Doctor shopping refers to looking for a doctor willing to prescribe drugs illegally, or getting prescriptions for a single drug from more than one doctor at the same time.

The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office began investigating Limbaugh last year, after his former maid told them she had been supplying him prescription painkillers for years.

Limbaugh recently admitted his addiction, stemming from severe back pain, and took a five-week leave from his afternoon radio show to enter a rehabilitation program.

Palm Beach County prosecutors insisted 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.

"We're talking about investigating crimes, specifically the crime of doctor-shopping," said Assistant State Attorney Jim Martz.

But Limbaugh's lawyer said the seizure of the records from doctors in Florida and California violated the conservative radio commentator's privacy.

"What could be more important than keeping your medical records private?" attorney Roy Black said on CBS News' The Early Show. "I don't think anybody would want that posted in Web sites throughout the Internet."

"The right to privacy is seldom absolute and in this case the judge ruled that Limbaugh's privacy rights had to take a back seat, at least for the time being, to the state's interest in investigating whether a crime occurred," Cohen said.

In a statement Monday, Limbaugh's lawyers denied their client was considering a plea bargain. The statement was released after Keven Bellows, a spokeswoman for Premier Radio Networks, told CNN that Black had been talking with prosecutors about Limbaugh "accepting responsibility for his actions."

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.

"What these records show is that I did suffer pain and had legitimate medical reasons for taking pain medication," said Limbaugh.

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.

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."