Rush Limbaugh Critic Admits He Didn't Check His Facts

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Not-So-Slick Rick

CNN's Rick Sanchez has apologized for falsely attributing specific racist comments to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Before an on-air apology, Sanchez wrote this on his Twitte r page: "I've know(n) Rush. In person, I like him. His rhetoric, however is inexcusably divisive. He's right though. We didn't confirm quote. Our bad."

We told you Thursday about Limbaugh's failed attempt to become a minority owner of the NFL's Saint Louis Rams. He was dropped from the group trying to buy the team, because it said Limbaugh had become a distraction.

That came after a number of news organizations, including CNN, claimed Limbaugh once heralded the merits of slavery, and said that Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor. Limbaugh says those comments were completely fabricated adding, "they were first found on Wikipedia and it turns out that the IP address for the person who posted those quotes is a New York City law firm."

The farthest back Fox News can trace the quotes is to Jack Huberman's 2006 book, "101 People Who Are Really Screwing America." Huberman provided no source for the remarks.

Defense Dollars

The legal bills continue to mount for embattled House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel.

The New York Democrat spent more than a quarter million dollars on legal counsel over the summer. That means Rangel has doled out more than $1.25 million in his defense since July 2008, when his use of four rent-stabilized New York apartments was first reported.

Rangel is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for other alleged misdeeds, including his failure to pay taxes. The strain of those investigations was evident earlier this week when Rangel told a reporter on Capitol Hill who asked about the inquiries, "I know it's your job and I don't blame you, but it's so rude."

Staying Put?

Two New Hampshire inmates want to remain in jail after serving their full sentences. The Fosters Daily Democrat reports the Rockingham County House of Corrections superintendent received letters from the prisoners. One letter read: "Can I stay the winter? My take on it ...is the economy is dumping so far that jail isn't looking as bad."

The superintendent, Al Wright, denied the request, saying: "It's not a homeless shelter. I can only hold people on legal orders from the court."

— Fox News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.