Posted on 07/09/2006 8:55:56 AM PDT by prairiebreeze
Politically biased U.S. Customs agents lay in wait for Rush Limbaugh to arrive at Palm Beach International Airport.
They eagerly pounced on him and spread the word far and wide that he had committed a crime that was not a crime at all.
That's what Limbaugh says happened when he arrived back in the United States last week, after a trip to the Dominican Republic. He told his national radio audience Wednesday that U.S. Customs agents were waiting to spring a trap for him and embarrass him in the national media.
According to Limbaugh, when he got back from three days in the Dominican Republic he had a bottle of Viagra in his briefcase. It has been there since last December, he recalled, and he had forgotten it was even there.
"There were 30 pills prescribed, and when they counted them out, there were 29 - and yet, everybody thinks I loaded up on the stuff for a trip to the Dominican Republic, and that's what everybody was saying. 'Wow, what went on in the Dominican Republic?' In fact, when I cleared Customs there was this agent. ... I opened the primary compartment where most of the things in the briefcase are, just to be cooperative, and she reaches in there, pulls out this bottle, says, 'What have we here?' There are 25 people in the room. 'What have we here? Viagra!' she shouts. 'And look, it's not your name on the bottle! This is a crime! This is a violation of law!'"
The prescription, as Limbaugh's lawyer has pointed out, was issued in Limbaugh's doctor's name to preserve Limbaugh's privacy, and there was nothing illegal about his having it.
"[The Custom agent is] shouting this all over the Customs office, and the whole room has come to a dead stop, and she races behind some closed door to her supervisor. The supervisor comes out and asks, 'How many other prescriptions do you have, sir?'
"'I've got two.'
"'They have your name on it?'
"'Yes.'
"'What are they?'
"'Look at 'em.'
"He said, 'Well, what's this?'
"I said, 'I had an intestinal blockage in December. They're for that.'
"'Oh. How much cash are you carrying?'
"I started to pull my cash out.
"He said, 'I don't care to see it, just tell me.'
"I said, 'Less than $1,500.'
"'OK.'
"I had a little white bag of things and he opened it. 'What's this?' he said.
"I said, 'Those are cuff links and golf balls from President Bush. I had lunch with him last Friday in the White House and dinner with your boss, [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary [Michael] Chertoff, the night before at the Supreme Court.'
"'Well, sir, I have to tell you that this is a violation of law, and we have called authorities in Miami' and blah, blah, and they detained me for three or four hours and whatever it was, and actually it was the state attorney's office here that ended the whole thing by sending some sheriff's deputies over and finally getting a statement from me and taking the case under their jurisdiction, and they today said there's no crime here, and they've announced it but the media is still reporting all over the place all the effects of the deal that could have been thwarted had this been prosecuted and regurgitating facts that were not part of this story at all."
It was an obvious setup, Limbaugh said, explaining that when anyone comes into Customs in Palm Beach on a private airplane, U.S. officials know they're coming because passengers must provide such information as their passport name and ID, passport number, and date of birth a week before they depart.
"So somebody in there knew I was coming in, and from what I was told from people that were there during the time I was there, mine was the only luggage that was searched," Limbaugh said.
"Somebody - and I assume it's at Customs - leaked this. How else is this discovered? You know, all this talk about being a watchdog on government, the media ... they're going to make sure the government doesn't overstep its bounds, doesn't spy on citizens.
"The media is going to make sure the government does not endanger people's civil liberties. Well, I guess when it comes to mine, they get thrown out the window. Somebody in the government leaked this against me and then they kept regurgitating it, and it was just used to attack me.
"This story purely and simply is that there was nothing illegal about what happened, and thus there aren't any charges. There was nothing illegal here. This never had anything to do with the previous deal that I had made with the state attorney's office down here, and the media has been hoping and praying that this would lead - and, by the way, I understand. They hate me, folks. As I said last week, I expect them to want bad things to happen to me, and I expect them to not like me.
"I have targeted them for 18 years. It's quite natural that they do this. I do not expect objectivity or fairness from these people where I'm concerned at all."
Thanks to recent experience, Limbaugh has decided to forego future trips overseas.
"This incident has taught me. I had a golf trip planned for Spain in August, and I have canceled it. I am not going to involve myself with United States Customs for the next year and a half until this so-called probationary period evaporates.
"I'll tell you, the election cycles of '06 and '08, especially '08, I think it's going to be one of the most vicious and filthy of our lifetimes. This was the first one I've ever encountered like this, but it takes one time and I've got red flags up, and I'm not going to put myself in a position of being framed. I'm just not going to make it easy for people to frame me or whatever. So I've canceled that trip to Spain.
"I hate thinking this way, but it's the only smart thing to do. It just takes one experience, and you know, I have political enemies, theoretically, everywhere I would go and come back in the country. Normally when I clear Customs, when I come back from Europe it's Bangor [Maine] because you've got to stop for fuel. They're great there. Atlanta. Teterboro, they have been fabulous up in New Jersey, in the New York area. But this was unreal. This experience was totally unreal."
"This incident has taught me. I had a golf trip planned for Spain in August, and I have canceled it. I am not going to involve myself with United States Customs for the next year and a half until this so-called probationary period evaporates.
Thank goodness!! Very wise decision on Rush's part, IMO. Unacceptable that he has to make such decisions but we all know the reality of the venom of the liberals.
Rush is foregoing further overseas trips for a while. Good plan.
So much for Rush's civil liberties. ping
Correct. All private aircraft coming from the DR are targeted.
As I've said before Rush Limbaugh is only guilty of being Rush Limbaugh .
Rush has had bodyguards for a long time, IIRC. Obviously, he doesn't talk about it for fear of compromising who/what, etc. With this latest attempt at legalized lynching, perhaps he should travel with several attorneys, too...
he should file a complaint and go after the agent. The last thing they want is a file of complaints against them.
If anyone doubts that the moon bats want him dead, all they need to do is visit a Limbaugh thread over at D.U.
If Rush doesn't travel with an armed body guard he should.
The article states others reported that no other bags were searched other than Rush's.
I'm sure customs is quite interested in DR returning flights, but this does seem to be a case of targeting for political reasons.
He had me until this...it's not so-called...it IS.
I don't think that's what he meant. Apparently there were more people on that flight. None of them were given an anal probe.
I wonder how many Muslims breezed through customs?
Well, at least, that incompetent jerk Mineta is gone.
Hopefully, he went to work for the DLC.
Still not as outrageous as Iraq War critic Paul Craig Roberts somehow ending up on the no-fly list.
So this customs wench was shouting to a room full of people what Rush's prescription was? Sounds like someone just violated HIPA regulations. Her butt should be canned.
Oh, yeah, everyone knows liberals suffer much more. (/sarcasm)
Bodyguards and somehow a way to ensure that nothing can be planted on his person or in his belongings. Also having people in his company who can witnesses as to his whereabouts, I would suppose.
I thought he was referencing his "not guilty" plea, and inferring the probationary period was invalid....at least in his eyes.
"Correct. All private aircraft coming from the DR are targeted."
I don't agree with that. The DR is a tourist destination and many people go there. Why should a private aircraft be targeted any more than anything else? I seriously doubt Rush Limbaugh is going to bringing a huge stach of coke back in his briefcase.
He was targeted because he was Rush. And on top of that the incident and his personal information were released before he had left the airport.
So much for the lefts belief in our cival rights.
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