Rush to Judgment

[[C R I M E]] * First came Tom DeLay’s mug shot, as the indicted former Republican majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives turned himself in last October at a Harris County Sheriff’s Department facility in Houston, Texas, after being charged with two counts of conspiracy and money-laundering.

Now add Rush Limbaugh’s mug shot (left) to your expanding Rogue’s Gallery. It seems that the once-influential right-wing radio talk-show host and notorious painkiller addict was arrested in Florida earlier today “on a doctor-shopping charge in the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office’s long-running investigation into his drug use,” according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “He spent less than an hour in custody and was fingerprinted before being released on $3,000 bail.”

Under the terms of an agreement concerning his single felony charge, the 55-year-old, thrice-divorced Limbaugh must “continue seeing the therapist who has been treating him since he admitted to an addiction to painkillers in October 2003 and entered a month-long treatment program,” reports the Sun-Sentinel. “[That agreement] also requires him to undergo drug testing and pay $30,000 toward the cost of the investigation, according to prosecutors. Limbaugh is expected to sign the agreement Monday and broadcast his afternoon radio show that day from Palm Beach [where he currently lives]. If Limbaugh successfully completes the terms of his 18 months of supervision, the felony charge will be dismissed and Limbaugh’s record will be clean.” Much to relief of all those dittoheads, no doubt.

READ MORE: “Limbaugh’s Drug Woes Don’t Bother His Bush Pals,” by Tim Grieve (Salon); “Limbaugh Mug Shot T-shirts Now Available,” by John Aravosis (AMERICAblog).