Write-in Effort Led to Rush Prosecution; Prosecutor Mulls Charges

In its lead Page One story Sunday, the Palm Beach Post reported that "no charges have been filed against Rush Limbaugh, but pressures are mounting on the Palm Beach County state attorney to do something – or nothing.”

In October of last year radio talk show Rush Limbaugh acknowledged a prescription drug addiction to painkillers that began in the late '90s after a surgical procedure.

The story gained national attention after the National Enquirer paid Limbaugh’s former housekeeper Wilma Cline for her story about her involvement in illegally obtaining Rush's medications. Cline reportedly received a cool $250,000 from the tabloid for her story.

The Post reports Sunday that Cline never told Palm Beach County law enforcement officials that she and her husband shared details of the case with the National Enquirer.

The paper claimed, "The prosecutors had no idea that after getting immunity the couple would sell their story to a tabloid.”

"They were blindsided by it," criminal defense lawyer Roy Black told the Post. "If it hadn't hit the Enquirer, I don't think [the state attorney's office] would have done anything about it. But when the story hit the Enquirer, they were stuck with it and felt that they had to do something."

In fact, Black said, when he met with Palm Beach State Attorney Barry Krischer during the first week of October, "Krischer assured him that Limbaugh was not a target," said the Post.

"Barry told me directly that they're not in the business of prosecuting people who are addicts," Black told the Post.

But that all changed after the Enquirer story and an apparent local and national write-in effort by liberal groups to urge Krischer to prosecute the conservative Republican talk show host.

Krischer, a Democrat, was clearly influenced by the anti-Rush campaign, the Post says.

Up until the Limbaugh investigation, Krischer had won praise by Republicans for the apolitical way he has handled prosecutions in the county.

Krischer is up for election this year, but he is not being opposed by a Republican. Sid Dinerstein, Palm Beach County's Republican chairman, told the Post, "Krischer's unbeatable."

Dinerstein added, "Republicans consider him reasonable. He's tough on the death penalty, and in a Democratic county he's as good as we can expect. I've had people tell me they want to run against Krischer, and I say, 'Save your money.'"

But with Democrats outnumbering Republicans in the county by a margin of 9 to 5, and lingering anger among Gore supporters for the recount that was centered here, Limbaugh may turn out to be the convenient whipping boy.

Murray Kalish, who the Post described as a "fixture in the influential South County Democratic Club," said: "He's not representing the people in Oklahoma, South Carolina and the sticks, he's responding to what the people of Palm Beach County say needs to be done. Me and the people in the club would be very upset at him if he didn't get involved."

Kalish added, "We don't want to see Limbaugh get away with something if he's doing something illegal."

Krischer, apparently responding to such demands, decided to embark his office on a political witch hunt against Limbaugh. Without actual possession of drugs, Krischer's office had no case against Limbaugh for drug charges.

Also, Limbaugh‘s housekeeper would make less than a credible witness. Reportedly she first approached the tabloid paper two years ago for money. When the tabloid's editors told her they would not run the story unless there was a police probe, she hired a Miami attorney to gain immunity from local prosecutors to get their involvement.

Also, Cline's husband is a felon. As the Post notes: "David Cline had been a fugitive, skipping bond on a 1982 cocaine trafficking charge, before surrendering seven years later and getting sent to prison. Four years ago, he was arrested again, this time for identity theft and marijuana possession."

Without strong witness testimony, Krischer's office decided to focus on the issue of doctor shopping. Prosecutors obtained Limbaugh's pharmacy records and claimed he used overlapping prescriptions from multiple doctors to feed his addiction.

Even the Post admitted that no one in the county had been fully prosecuted for the crime over the past five years. Also Limbaugh entered a drug treatment program, which usually satisfies law enforcement officials. Still, Krischer's office seems committed to targeting Rush.

There is no mention in the Post article whether Krischer is considering charging Limbaugh's housekeeper.

Roy Black has charged that Cline blackmailed and extorted from the prescription drug-addicted Limbaugh more than $100,000. She was also given legal immunity – and without telling prosecutors sold her story for money, apparently jeopardizing a much broader investigation then under way of illegal painkiller trafficking in the county.

Editor's Note: Ed Asner brags that liberal groups got Rush – and that Sean Hannity is next – click here to read more.