Posted on 12/05/2003 8:43:04 AM PST by kattracks
Palm Beach County state attorney Barry Krischer, whose office announced yesterday it has seized the medical records of top radio host Rush Limbaugh, is a Democrat who strongly supported frequent Limbaugh target Janet Reno when she was nominated to be U.S. attorney general in 1993.''I think she's highly qualified, and believe the manner in which she's handled high-profile cases ... shows she's got the courage and integrity to do the job,'' Krischer told the Orlando Sun Sentinel after the Clinton administration nominated his Dade County colleague.
Krischer's praise came as police who served under Reno slammed her as incompetent. ''Local law-enforcement (officials) are going to be glad to see her go," an FBI agent told the paper.
By August 2002, however, Krischer had switched his allegiance to businessman Bill McBride, who opposed Reno in Florida's gubernatorial primary. McBride was also heavily backed by Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who diverted $13 million from national party coffers in the closing days of the campaign in a bid to upset Gov. Jeb Bush.
McAuliffe has also been a frequent Limbaugh target.
On Thursday, Limbaugh's attorney Roy Black said the probe into the top talker's use of prescription painkillers had turned sharply political.
"Unfortunately, because of Mr. Limbaugh's prominence and well-known political opinions, he has been subjected to an invasion of privacy that no citizen of this republic should endure," Black said in a statement issued by his office. "What should be a responsible investigation is looking more and more like a fishing expedition."
Indeed, early indications were that Florida prosecutors viewed the case against the top rated radio host as weak.
Assistant State Attorney James Martz, the Florida prosecutor who heads up a task force on money-laundering, told the Palm Beach Post in October that he is more interested in pursuing drug ring kingpins than in prosecuting low-level drug users like Limbaugh.
Martz also noted that to prosecute drug abusers, authorities need to catch them in possession of the illegal substance, something that didn't happen in Limbaugh's case. "Shy of that, we have very little leverage in the state system," Martz he told the Post.
Another Florida attorney familiar with the case told the paper, "I think it's legal suicide to go after a guy like Limbaugh with evidence as flimsy as this."
Krischer's decision to target the top conservative also flies in the face of his long-standing support for drug treatment over prosecution.
Just last week the Post reported, "Many observers predict [Limbaugh won't be prosecuted], at least partly because of State Attorney Barry Krischer's policy of favoring treatment over punishment for drug users."
Limbaugh recently completed a successful five week drug treatment program at an undisclosed facility.
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