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FLASHBACK: PROSECUTOR BLUFFED 'LIMBAUGH COMMITTED AT LEAST 10 FELONIES' Sun Apr 30 2006 17:15:30 ET Palm Beach County prosecutors rejected an overture in 2004 from Rush Limbaugh's attorneys that would have allowed the nation's top talkshow host to enter drug rehabilitation, rather than face criminal charges for prescription drug abuse. Prosecutors, at the time, claimed they had evidence that Limbaugh committed at least 10 felonies! It now appears James Martz, the prosecutor who headed the investigation into Limbaugh's prescription drug use, was bluffing when he said that medical records "indicate evidence that would support in excess of 10 felony counts...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Christine Iverson(202) 863-8614 LAS VEGAS – Victory 2004 announced today the schedule for the “Leadership Matters” tour in which 20 Republican Governors will crisscross the country touting President Bush’s strong and steady leadership. The Governors will meet President Bush in Las Vegas, NV, this Thursday, October 14th to launch the two-day tour. The Governors, traveling in 7 teams, will rally support for the President by highlighting that leadership matters when choosing a President. The tour will stress the President’s steady resolve and clear, consistent vision on today’s critical issues. The Governors’ schedule is as follows. Cities...

Lt. Gov. Karl Ohs Monday is expected to announce his support for Secretary of State Bob Brown in the Republican primary contest for governor. Ohs, reached in Helena late Friday afternoon declined to confirm that was his intention, but said he is scheduled to make his choice known in Billings Monday morning. “I’ll have an announcement on Monday,” he said. “At this point I’d better not say anything more.” In mid-September Gov. Judy Martz said she favored Billings businessman Pat Davison as her replacement. Martz decided against seeking a second term in the 2004 election. Brown, Davison and former GOP...

STATEHOUSE UPDATE To the surprise of few, two governors who have been mired in controversy announced last week that they would not seek re-election in ’04. Democrat Robert Wise of West Virginia and Republican Judy Martz of Montana both cited their need to deal with personal troubles as the chief reason for standing down. Wise had recently admitted an extramarital affair. Martz conceded she had cared for and washed the clothes of her top policy adviser after he crashed a car, killing the state house majority leader. She harbored him overnight without calling the police. Montana’s first woman governor, however,...

<p>HELENA, Mont. — Gov. Judy Martz, whose first term has been besieged by missteps and dismal popularity among voters, said Wednesday she will not run for re-election next year.</p> <p>At a news conference, Martz said she wanted to spend more time with her family and insisted that her sagging popularity was not a factor in her decision. Recent polls have shown her approval rating at about 20 percent.</p>

HELENA, Mont. Gov. Judy Martz, saying she has done what she promised and that she wants to spend more time with her family, announced Wednesday she will not seek a second term. At a news conference in her Capitol office, the Republican ticked off a list of achievements dealing with economic development, health care and tax changes and then concluded, “I have accomplished what I set out to do. I have enacted my vision.” The surprise announcement is expected to entice Lt. Gov. Karl Ohs into the GOP primary race already crowded with three candidates. Ohs, who attended the news...

SIGNS OF THE TIMES IN MONTANA In one of the hardest-fought party convention battles in Montana history, John Rabenberg was elected Republican state chairman last week. Rabenberg, a veteran party volunteer and Fort Peck farmer, won 102 to 74 over former State Rep. Gilda Clancy. He succeeds outgoing Chairman Ken Miller (who is relinquishing the party helm to ponder a bid for governor amidst growing rumors that Republican incumbent Judy Martz will not seek re-election). Although numerous publications tried to portray the fight between Rabenberg and Clancy, a lobbyist for the Montana Eagle Forum, as an ideological battle, party sources...

HELENA - If the 2004 general election were held today, only 18 percent of Montana voters say they would vote to re-elect Republican Gov. Judy Martz, a Lee Newspapers poll shows. Democratic challenger Brian Schweitzer would defeat Martz by a 52 percent to 24 percent margin, with 24 percent of the voters undecided, if the 2004 general election were held today, a test matchup in the poll shows. Schweitzer, the only announced Democratic candidate who narrowly lost to Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns in 2000, already has raised more than $250,000 for his 2004 governor's race. Only one in five...

HELENA -- Democrat Brian Schweitzer already has raised more $254,000 for his race for governor in 2004, a total that he says has shattered fund-raising records for Montana gubernatorial candidates. He filed a fund-raising report Monday. Schweitzer, who narrowly lost to U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., raised $254,903 from Jan. 8 through March 31, despite refusing to take money from political action committees and political parties. His campaign reported $229,377 in the bank at the close of the reporting period. The Democrat said he has received money from 1,843 individual donors, with 91 percent from Montana. He and his wife,...