Fox & Friends Say Seizing George Clooney's Medical Records & Rush Limbaugh's Are The Same Thing

Today on Fox and Friends there was a story on George Clooney's medical records being breached by several medical personnel. Several of them had been suspended. 27 (Doocy said) may be fired and even George Clooney said that may be a little harsh. This all stems from a motorcycle accident that George Clooney was involved in.

But then they took the story and tried to compare it to Rush Limbaugh's medical records being seized.

Doocy asked what George Clooney and Rush Limbaugh have in common. Judge Andrew Napolitan said that both of their medical records were illegally leaked. Judge Napolitano said that in the case of Rush Limbaugh it was a prosecutor who subpoenoed them.

The screen was split with a picture of George Clooney on one side and Rush Limbaugh on the other. The banner underneath said 'ER Secrets Spilled, Limbaugh's Suffered Same Fate.'

They talked amongst themselves to decide if George Clooney's medical records were leaked or peeked. Napolitano said Clooney's were peeked, Limbaugh's were leaked. Doocy said George Clooney's were leaked to the press and Camarato said she hadn't seen anything in the press. Doocy said they were leaked because they wanted to know the nature of Clooney's injuries and any information on the woman who was with Clooney and what she might have said.

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http://www.newshounds.us/2007/10/10/fox_friends_say_seizing_george_clooneys_medical_records_rush_limbaughs_are_the_same_thing.php

:eyes:

I'm sure they've been ordered to never talk about Rush's "problem" again

nasty business of oxyrush and his blackmarket deals to stay high while trying to sell out our country spewing propoganda on the air..you pukefest tools.

who defended Rush's rights to keep those medical records private, too... didn't they?

Rush was doing something illegal which caused his records to be subpeonaed, while Clooney had his stolen. NO COMPARISON!

IDIOTS

On edit: Edited to change "without a warrant or a court order" to "without a court order." the prosecutor did file a warrant, but no subpoena was filed with the court.

Clooney's records were illegally leaked, Limbaugh's were illegally seized.

was illegal? If so, how?

The Palm Beach County prosecutor seized Limbaugh's records without a proper court order. It was a ridiculous breach of privacy. I'm no fan of Limbaugh, but I like jackbooted government officials even less. The prosecutor issued a warrant, but the clerk of court never issued a subpoena, as the judge handling the case was never informed. That's why the prosecutor had to give the records to the court after seizing them.

From the OP: "Judge Andrew Napolitan said that both of their medical records were illegally leaked. Judge Napolitano said that in the case of Rush Limbaugh it was a prosecutor who subpoenoed them."

Are there two different judges being quoted? (or just a typo?)

I didn't know that judges issued subpoenas, and that clerks issued warrants. I would think that court clerks issued what judges authorized them to issue, but that's just me thinking outloud again.

I'm quite certain that even after researching the difference between the terms subpoena and warrant a year back or so, I still don't have a full grasp on the differences, summarized briefly as judges issue warrants, whereas other official government departments and their officers can issue subpoenas, but those are not from judges.

And in most cases, prosecutors can also issue subpoenas in their capacity as officers of the court.

As for the judge quoted in the OP, it's kind of confusing, becuase Limbaugh's records weren't actually leaked, to my knowledge. Clooney's were leaked to the media, but Limbaugh's were simply taken by the prosecutor, then surrendered to the court -- there was never any public access.

If you don't count the subpoena and the legal fight involving the ACLU in Rush's case and the fact that Rush's records were part of a felony criminal investigation involving his illegal use of prescription drugs or that Clooney's records were turned over to the paparazzi rather than any legal authority and involved injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. But other than that there was hardly any difference at all.