First Amendment
Rush Limbaugh Divorce Details Secret, But Salary Isn’t
Posted Oct 4, 2007, 06:27 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Details of Rush Limbaugh’s 2004 divorce settlement will remain secret because of a Florida appeals court ruling yesterday.
The court denied a motion for rehearing (PDF) by the Palm Beach Post, which is seeking to unseal the file, the Daily Business Review reports. A dissenter argued that the agreement is a judicial record that should be disclosed, absent an exception.
Adria Harper, director of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, told the Daily Business Review that decisions of this kind are alarming. "We're concerned here with people getting special treatment in terms of keeping information private, or having different access to the courts that other people might have," she said.
Undaunted, a Palm Beach Post blog reported today on Limbaugh’s earnings, detailed in a Florida Department of Corrections file. The amount: $2 million to $3 million a month.
Under a deferred prosecution agreement, the conservative radio host will not be prosecuted in connection with a probe into possession of prescription painkillers if he gets drug treatment and stays out of legal trouble.