Rush Limbaugh is in the news again about a possible drug-law violation — a story that perhaps tells us a little more than we WANT to know:
Rush Limbaugh was detained for about 3 1/2 hours at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription.
Since he got into hot water and reached a deal with prosecutors over pain pill prescriptions, some of Limbaugh’s critics suggested he should have spent more time in rehab. But Rush clearly wanted to stick it out a while longer. MORE from the AP:
The 55-year-old radio commentator’s luggage was examined by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his private plane landed at the airport around 2 p.m. from the Dominican Republic, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Here’s A VIDEO of one of the early news reports on a cable TV talk show. AND:
Customs officials found in Limbaugh’s luggage a prescription bottle labeled as Viagra, a prescription drug that treats erectile dysfunction, Miller said.
QUESTION: Can’t and shouldn’t Limbaugh write this off as a vital business expense?
After all, he is considered by many to be a Big One. MORE:
“The problem was that on the bottle itself was not his name, but the name of two Florida doctors,” Miller said.
Details, deschmails.
After all, if this had been progressive talker Ed Schultz or Al Franken or even NBC’s Brian Williams you wouldn’t see any eyebrows raised or hear a single peep. Right? AND:
The matter was turned over to the sheriff’s office, whose investigators interviewed Limbaugh.
“He said he had the Viagra in his possession for his use and that he did obtain it from his doctors,” Miller said.
Hopefully it isn’t counterfeit Viagra. Then he’d be stiffed. MORE:
Sheriff’s investigators confiscated the drugs, and Limbaugh was released around 5:30 p.m. without being charged.
However, the sheriff’s office plans to file a report with the state attorney’s office.
“We believe there may be a second degree misdemeanor violation, which is possession of certain drugs without a prescription, because the bottle does not have his name on it,” Miller said.
Meanwhile, Limbaugh’s lawyer, the legendary criminal defense attorney Roy Black, issued a release to the press explaining it was no big deal:
While going through routine Customs inspection of luggage at Palm Beach International Airport upon his return from an international trip, Rush Limbaugh was detained by customs agents after they noticed a non-narcotic prescription drug, which had been prescribed by Mr. Limbaugh’s treating physician but labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes. After a brief interview, Mr. Limbaugh was permitted to continue on his journey.
Oh. It was in someone else’s name for privacy purposes…
They’d do that for ANY citizen. You and me, too. (But I DON’T NEED Viagra, despite all those emails). AND:
Last month, Limbaugh reached a deal with prosecutors who had accused the conservative talk-show host of illegally deceiving multiple doctors to receive overlapping pain pill prescriptions. Under the deal, a single charge commonly referred to as “doctor shopping” would be dismissed after 18 months if he complies with terms that include submitting to random drug tests and continuing treatment for his acknowledged addiction to painkillers.
What can emerge from this story?
It provides a useful tip to travel agents arranging travel for Mr. Limbaugh:
Never put Rush Limbaugh in a room with a bed under a low ceiling fan.
HERE ARE A FEW OTHER SITES COMMENTING ON THIS PENETRATING NEWS: Down With Tyranny, Assorted Babble By Suzie, Gigantic Dwarf, Billmon, Radio Equalizer, Taylor Marsh, Liberal Wacko, Matt Stoller, Dpendergraft, Americablog, Uncommon Sense, skippy the bush kangaroo, Burn The Liberals, Macsmind, Corrente, Shakespeare’s Sister
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.