Limbaugh did not address the drug investigation reports in his speech.
The Enquirer had interviewed Wilma Cline, who said she became Limbaugh's drug connection after working as his maid. She said Limbaugh had abused OxyContin and other painkillers.
Ed Shohat, a Miami lawyer for Cline and her husband, said Thursday, "The Clines stand by the story." Shohat said neither he nor his clients would comment further.
National Enquirer Editor in Chief David Perel declined to say whether the Clines were paid for their interview, but said the tabloid does "pay for interviews, photographs and exclusives - as long as they can be proven to be true." Referring to media reports saying the Clines were paid six figures for their story, Perel said, "People are just making things up."
CBS' Byron Pitts reports media analysts say this latest controversy could do real harm to Limbaugh's image and his career.
The conservative pundit - whose fans call themselves Dittoheads - once said the government should "send the people who want to do drugs to London and Zurich and let's be rid of them."
"When you've built a career on preaching what a good life is and law and order and toeing the straight line. When... that line that you've been on is not so straight anymore, it's clearly a touch of irony here," says media analyst Donny Deutsch, in a CBS News interview.
CLEAR PATH FROM THE NE TO CBS imo. They just happened to find a media analyst today.
Wilma Cline's husband, we need to find out what he does for a living besides the alleged dope stuff.
How stupid do they think Rush is? He has something like 80 gazillion dollars. He had no need to hire a maid to go find him prescription drugs. He could hire a differenet doctor every day of the year to write him a perfectly legal prescription if he wanted to. It didn't happen.