Surprise, surprise... Rush is Angry

Limbaugh livid after court OKs data grab

Radio rabble-rouser Rush Limbaugh raged yesterday after a panel of Florida judges ruled prosecutors probing illegal drug abuse were in the right when they seized his medical records.

"I want to remind everybody: I have not been charged with anything," Limbaugh lamented on his radio show after the ruling. "This was a fishing expedition from the outset to see if there was anything they could find to charge me with."

State Attorney Barry Krischer, who's investigating whether Limbaugh went "doctor shopping" to buy prescription painkillers illegally, said the ruling will allow his inquiry to proceed. "This office did not violate any of Mr. Limbaugh's constitutional rights, but, to the contrary, acted in accord with Florida law," said Krischer, a Democrat who has been accused by Limbaugh of waging a political vendetta.

Limbaugh, 53, vowed to appeal and said the court's ruling "does not mean that the state attorney's office can now immediately dig into those medical records."

Prosecutors went after Limbaugh's medical history after learning he bought about 2,000 painkillers - prescribed by four doctors during a five-month period - from a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion.

Limbaugh, who has advocated jailing junkies, told his legion of listeners last October that severe back pain turned him into a prescription pill-popper. He went into rehab for five weeks before returning to his program.

Later, Limbaugh said his privacy rights were violated and complained that investigators gave him no chance to challenge the seizure. Three judges disagreed.

"Search warrants have generally not required prior notice because of the understandable fear that the property's custodian might cause the evidence to disappear," the judges wrote.