Limbaugh Seeks to Block Look at Records

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Rush Limbaugh on Thursday appealed a court ruling that would allow prosecutors investigating his use of painkillers to examine his medical records.

The conservative commentator has said that the seizure of the records violated his privacy, and that he committed no crime.

Limbaugh attorney Roy Black asked for a rehearing by Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal. Investigators raided Limbaugh’s doctors’ offices in November to see if Limbaugh had engaged in “doctor shopping,” or illegally visiting several doctors to receive duplicate prescriptions.

Limbaugh has not been charged. Prosecutors have not been allowed to review the medical records while the case is heard.

Two weeks ago, the appeals court rejected Limbaugh’s claim that his privacy rights trumped investigators’ authority to seize his records.

Prosecutors went after the records after learning that Limbaugh received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion.

Limbaugh contends the investigation is politically motivated.

Limbaugh admitted an addiction to pain medication last October, saying it stemmed from severe back pain. He took a five-week leave from his afternoon radio show to enter a rehab program.