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American Morning

Rush Limbaugh Drug Case

Aired December 05, 2003 - 07:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators in Florida say they have seized records from pharmacies and doctors' offices in the Rush Limbaugh drug case. The search warrants claim that Limbaugh was doing what's called doctor shopping to get controlled substances. A law enforcement source tells CNN that Limbaugh is being investigated as part of a larger probe into the illegal sale of prescription painkillers.
Limbaugh says he is a recovering addict, not a criminal. And yesterday he read a statement from his attorney on the radio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: So let us make our position clear. Rush Limbaugh is not part of a drug ring. Rush Limbaugh was never a target of a drug investigation. Rush Limbaugh became addicted to a prescription drug during legitimate medical treatment. What should be a responsible investigation is looking more and more like a fishing expedition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: No charges have been filed against the conservative radio talk show host.

Joining us this morning from Miami to talk about this investigation is criminal defense attorney Frank Rubino.

Nice to see you, Frank.

Good morning to you.

FRANK RUBINO, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning.

How are you?

O'BRIEN: I'm well, thank you.

Let's get right into it.

We heard from Limbaugh, reading a statement from his lawyer, saying that this is essentially a fishing expedition.

Do you agree with that?

RUBINO: Absolutely. This is a man who had a legitimate medical condition, was treated by a doctor and given a prescription for necessary drugs. What has happened to him, by being addicted, it is nothing more than a side effect of his medical condition.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, there are some indications from some documents, including a search warrant, that showed that there were four different doctors that Rush Limbaugh got prescription medication from over five months. In Florida that might be considered to be doctor shopping, which is illegal.

Why doesn't that count in your perspective in this investigation?

RUBINO: Assuming for the sake of discussion that that, in fact, did happen, we've got to look at the underlying cause for this man's addiction. Is this a person who went out on Saturday night looking for recreational drugs to get high? Absolutely not. This is a man who got these drugs because it was of medical necessity. He became addicted as a side effect of the operation and then because of the addiction, he couldn't get off these drugs.

O'BRIEN: Here's what the state attorney had to say. His name is Barry Krischer. And he said that Limbaugh's rights actually have been scrupulously protected. "Whether Mr. Limbaugh is subject to prosecution for any crimes is still under investigation. Mr. Limbaugh is presumed innocent."

So what exactly, by starting this investigation, are they looking for? I mean what potential charges could this lead to?

RUBINO: What are they looking for? They're looking to hang a trophy on their wall. They're looking to hang the head of Rush Limbaugh, a man who was not the drug user or a drug abuser, but a man who out of medical necessity took prescription drugs and became addicted to them. They're looking to put a trophy on the wall.

What he needs is rehabilitation by way of a drug type clinic, which, in fact, he is going into.

O'BRIEN: Frankly, I -- I'm sorry -- I've got to interrupt you there, though. You say he's not a drug user or a drug abuser. Here is a man who admitted that he is now a recovering drug addict. So at one point he did become a drug user and a drug abuser, right?

RUBINO: No, I disagree. At one time in our lives, in fact, many times in our lives, I think we're all drug users because doctors write us legitimate prescriptions out of medical necessity.

This man was using a drug that was given to him by a physician by prescription, medically necessary, a drug that is highly addictive, not by his own choice. He didn't go to the doctor and say give me an addictive drug versus a non-addictive. He took...

O'BRIEN: Yes, but if he then eventually -- and, again, all of this is under investigation now -- but if he then got his housekeeper to go and score him some drugs, that is where it does become a criminal, the criminal part of this investigation.

Isn't that fair to say? RUBINO: Yes, but the prosecution has to use some common sense in this. They have to understand that this is a man who is not abusing drugs in a recreational use, a man who has become addicted to drugs because of medical necessity.

So what should happen to this man? This man should go into some form of rehabilitation, which he already has. Assuming that rehabilitation was successful, he should get on with his life.

How can we punish a person for becoming addicted to a drug prescribed to them by a doctor?

O'BRIEN: He should get on with his life and you think the prosecutors should get on with their lives and drop this case.

RUBINO: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Frank Rubino, we're out of time.

Thanks so much for your insight.

Really appreciate it.

RUBINO: Good-bye.

Have a nice day.

O'BRIEN: You, too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 5, 2003 - 07:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators in Florida say they have seized records from pharmacies and doctors' offices in the Rush Limbaugh drug case. The search warrants claim that Limbaugh was doing what's called doctor shopping to get controlled substances. A law enforcement source tells CNN that Limbaugh is being investigated as part of a larger probe into the illegal sale of prescription painkillers.
Limbaugh says he is a recovering addict, not a criminal. And yesterday he read a statement from his attorney on the radio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: So let us make our position clear. Rush Limbaugh is not part of a drug ring. Rush Limbaugh was never a target of a drug investigation. Rush Limbaugh became addicted to a prescription drug during legitimate medical treatment. What should be a responsible investigation is looking more and more like a fishing expedition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: No charges have been filed against the conservative radio talk show host.

Joining us this morning from Miami to talk about this investigation is criminal defense attorney Frank Rubino.

Nice to see you, Frank.

Good morning to you.

FRANK RUBINO, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning.

How are you?

O'BRIEN: I'm well, thank you.

Let's get right into it.

We heard from Limbaugh, reading a statement from his lawyer, saying that this is essentially a fishing expedition.

Do you agree with that?

RUBINO: Absolutely. This is a man who had a legitimate medical condition, was treated by a doctor and given a prescription for necessary drugs. What has happened to him, by being addicted, it is nothing more than a side effect of his medical condition.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, there are some indications from some documents, including a search warrant, that showed that there were four different doctors that Rush Limbaugh got prescription medication from over five months. In Florida that might be considered to be doctor shopping, which is illegal.

Why doesn't that count in your perspective in this investigation?

RUBINO: Assuming for the sake of discussion that that, in fact, did happen, we've got to look at the underlying cause for this man's addiction. Is this a person who went out on Saturday night looking for recreational drugs to get high? Absolutely not. This is a man who got these drugs because it was of medical necessity. He became addicted as a side effect of the operation and then because of the addiction, he couldn't get off these drugs.

O'BRIEN: Here's what the state attorney had to say. His name is Barry Krischer. And he said that Limbaugh's rights actually have been scrupulously protected. "Whether Mr. Limbaugh is subject to prosecution for any crimes is still under investigation. Mr. Limbaugh is presumed innocent."

So what exactly, by starting this investigation, are they looking for? I mean what potential charges could this lead to?

RUBINO: What are they looking for? They're looking to hang a trophy on their wall. They're looking to hang the head of Rush Limbaugh, a man who was not the drug user or a drug abuser, but a man who out of medical necessity took prescription drugs and became addicted to them. They're looking to put a trophy on the wall.

What he needs is rehabilitation by way of a drug type clinic, which, in fact, he is going into.

O'BRIEN: Frankly, I -- I'm sorry -- I've got to interrupt you there, though. You say he's not a drug user or a drug abuser. Here is a man who admitted that he is now a recovering drug addict. So at one point he did become a drug user and a drug abuser, right?

RUBINO: No, I disagree. At one time in our lives, in fact, many times in our lives, I think we're all drug users because doctors write us legitimate prescriptions out of medical necessity.

This man was using a drug that was given to him by a physician by prescription, medically necessary, a drug that is highly addictive, not by his own choice. He didn't go to the doctor and say give me an addictive drug versus a non-addictive. He took...

O'BRIEN: Yes, but if he then eventually -- and, again, all of this is under investigation now -- but if he then got his housekeeper to go and score him some drugs, that is where it does become a criminal, the criminal part of this investigation.

Isn't that fair to say? RUBINO: Yes, but the prosecution has to use some common sense in this. They have to understand that this is a man who is not abusing drugs in a recreational use, a man who has become addicted to drugs because of medical necessity.

So what should happen to this man? This man should go into some form of rehabilitation, which he already has. Assuming that rehabilitation was successful, he should get on with his life.

How can we punish a person for becoming addicted to a drug prescribed to them by a doctor?

O'BRIEN: He should get on with his life and you think the prosecutors should get on with their lives and drop this case.

RUBINO: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Frank Rubino, we're out of time.

Thanks so much for your insight.

Really appreciate it.

RUBINO: Good-bye.

Have a nice day.

O'BRIEN: You, too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com