In what Rush Limbaugh has dismissed as a fishing expedition, investigators claim in search warrants that the conservative radio host engaged in illegal drug use and went "doctor shopping" for prescription painkillers, the Associated Press reports.
On his show Thursday, Limbaugh, 51, denied any wrongdoing as he read statements prepared by his attorney, Roy Black. On the air, Limbaugh insisted that medical records will exonerate him.
"What these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain and had legitimate reasons for taking pain medication," Limbaugh said. "Unfortunately, because of Mr. Limbaugh's prominence and well-known political opinions, he is being subjected to an invasion of privacy no citizen of this republic should endure."
Florida State Attorney Barry Krischer said in a statement that Limbaugh's rights have been scrupulously protected.
In search warrants filed Thursday, investigators say they were looking for medical, insurance and appointment records for Limbaugh during raids on two doctors' offices on Nov. 25. The probe also was aimed at finding cash receipts and prescription forms, AP notes.
Limbaugh "alternated physicians to obtain overlapping prescriptions" and failed to tell each doctor that he was seeing others," according to the warrants, filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
As shown by the seized prescriptions list, Limbaugh allegedly obtained more than 2,100 pills from March 24 through Sept. 26. The medications include the powerful painkillers Oxycontin, Lorcet, Norco, hydrocodone and Kadian.
In addition, Limbaugh (who recently spent five weeks in a rehabilitation clinic for a self-admitted addiction to painkillers) received prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, the cholesterol-lowering drug Niacin, and Clonodine, which treats high blood pressure.
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