Rush: Can't say anything until cleared by lawyer

Rush Limbaugh Show ^ | 10/6/03 | LS

[LS]

Rush just said that contrary to many of the comments here, he could not address the drug assertions until cleared to do so by his lawyer. He reiterated "trust me," and strongly implied he could deny everything, but was prohibited from talking about it at all by his attorney.

[Humbug]

I could be wrong, but it seems to me there is never any legal harm in saying you've done absolutely nothing wrong if you haven't.

There could be if you think someone might be framing you and that you might be walking into a trap if you aren't careful. Just a for instance - it has been reported that the maid had wired herself and that a tape supposedly exists with Rush on it. Now what if she had wired herself over a period of time and over that time (perhaps egged on by her) Rush jokingly made some references to drugs, which, if taken out of context, could be construed to be him talking about himself doing drugs rather than just making some offhand joke about it. And with the maid's husband a confidence man, i believe, it's not too hard to imagine that he would put her up to something like (in fact, i read that when the maid was first considering working for Rush that she said her husband was very impressed when he learned about it...yeah, i bet he was). So anyway Rush probably has to be careful because he doesn't know exactly what is out there and what trap he could be falling into.

[ClancyJ]

So, you listen to him as long as you know nothing about him and can believe he is perfect. Once you find that he is not perfect, you change the channel.

So? Great big loss for him-isn't it?

Guess now his analysis of events, his knowledge is all worth nothing - because the man may not be perfect.

[JayNorth]

"If he is innocent he shouldn't need to keep his mouth shut and doesn't need a lawyer."

I hope the other attorneys on the show challenged this.

This is classic RATspeak. Say something that sounds plausible to the average uniformed person that anyone with any background in the topic (including the person who said it) knows is absolutely wrong. That way, the loyal RATbase can say to themselves "he's right, Rush must be guilty" because they are a) uninformed and b) have heard it from an "expert".

[Mamzelle]

re: Fact is, he's not obligated to deny rumors that have only been published in the National Enquirer, period.

He's not obligated to run a radio show "unrelenting in the pursuit of truth"..."courage to face the truth"--etc, etc. Don't mind me--I'm just anticipating what we're going to have to listen to.

It's ridiculous to assert that he can let such accusations go unaddressed indefinitely, considering the nature of his job.

I've listened to Rush for over ten years, though in the past couple I've fallen off because he doesn't seem too interested in the same issues that interest me (he has little to say about illegal immigration, for instance).

And I'm not going to pretend I wasn't disappointed in his hedging Friday. I didn't bother to tune in today to hear more.

[who knows what evil?]

Let's face it...the liberal media is caught up in a feeding frenzy that borders on orgasmic. You can't turn ANYWHERE without some media outlet going on and on about the "Rush Limbaugh and drugs" saga. The more Rush maintains his silence; the shriller they get. Did it ever occur to anyone that perhaps Rush, by his silence, is providing the media with the rope that he will use to hang them with at a later point? The stack of lawsuits could wind up taller than the 'stack of stuff' he accumulates over the weekend.

[Archangelsk]

What Would Marion Barry Do?

Paraphrase him probably, "Female dog in heat set me up!".

[Labyrinthos]

...there are those who choose to take the side of the Enquirer and a Junkie over Rush.

There were also those who choose to take the side of the Enquirer and an overweight, disgruntled ex-employee with bad hair over Bill Clintoon, and guess who was right?

[JayNorth]

William Kennedy Smith skate the rape charge

I'm not a Kennedy fan, but that was, IMHO, not a rape. He called a mentally unstable woman by the wrong name at an intimate moment and she went off the rails. And, no, I'm not insensitive to women's issues, but if you listened to the trial (which I did) it is hard to come to any other conclusion. Democrat or not (most trial lawyers are for obvious reasons) I thought Roy Black was a good attorney as I watched the WKS trial play itself out.

[cyncooper]

He reiterated "trust me," and strongly implied he could deny everything, but was prohibited from talking about it at all by his attorney.

I heard it and agree with your assessment.

I posted on Friday that prior to his going back on the air I was inclined to think the charges had merit. Then I heard his comments on Friday and re-evaluated based on his words and tone.

[jjbrouwer]

It's the whole shoot the messenger syndrome. Just out of curiosity, did people refer to the Enquirer as the "Liberal media" when it exposed Clinton's disgraceful shenanigans...?

[LS]

No, it's not "obvious." What is obvious is that today, you cannot say ANYTHING lest a clever attorney turn it against you in court. I have some experience in civil proceedings and even a small criminal proceeding, and can tell you that in depositions witnesses are instructed to say as LITTLE as possible and volunteer nothing, PERIOD.

[CyberAnt]

You're right .. and I also got the same impression.

Rush also said that he was in his airplane on the way to Philadelphia when he heard about the drug thing. He said that at the time, they all wondered what "that" was all about.

That statement tells me .. Rush doesn't know what the drug thing is all about. Therefore .. his lawyer doesn't want him saying anything which might complicate things like [THEIR LAWSUIT AGAINST THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER] which is what I hope they're planning.

[joesbucks]

Difference is you had a press that could edit what you said. Rush's comments are available in their entirity for all to hear on his program, plus he can archive the wave file on his web site.

You didn't have the luxury to do that when you gave the interview.

[LS]

You apparently have had no experience with the law. No, you cannot even say you "didn't do it." Why do you think the most common response in any case to the media is "no comment?" There are ways even a denial can be twisted either in court or by the media.

[Howlin]

The first thing I would have done if I were truly innocent would have been to go in front of a bank of microphones and declare I was innocent, attorneys/investigations be damned.

I'm not accepting of this story; I'm sure a lot of it is exaggerated. But she didn't have a script for those drugs for him; "illegal" means they were black market.

There is something "here" or we'd have seen blanket lawsuits filed by Rush against the NE by now.

And the reason I'm this way is because I'm consistent: I don't buy this parsing and vagueness and word splitting from Democrats, and I'm sure as hell not going to buy it from people in my own party.

We're suppose to be BETTER than that.

I'm not a fan out Rush's, and I really hope that all of you who are aren't disappointed when the facts come out. They will be something less than what has been stated, but more than it seems some of you all are anticipating.

[CyberAnt]

I'm with you Libertina!

[Born Conservative]

[LS]

Ah, but even if you say it for public discourse, it is brought into the courtroom to either discredit a person's honesty or whatever. You are not allowed to say ANYTHING by your attorneys for a reason.