Could Rush Limbaugh be in legal trouble for calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" during his radio talk show? Yes, says celebrity/attorney/feminist Gloria Allred.

Allred released a letter she sent Thursday to the Palm Beach County Attorney's Office in West Palm Beach, Fla., demanding that Limbaugh be prosecuted under an obscure Florida statute, Section 836.04, which states, according to the letter:

"Defamation -- Whoever speaks of and concerning any woman, married or unmarried, falsely and maliciously imputing to her a want of chastity, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.775.082 or s.775.083."

But County Attorney Denise Nieman pointed out to CNBC in an email that her office does not investigate or prosecute alleged criminal behavior and that Allred should have directed her letter to the State Attorney's Office. Allred, whose practice is based in Los Angeles, emailed CNBC later to say a new version of the letter has been forwarded.

You can read the first Allred letter in a .pdf document here.  And here's the second letter.

More reading on this case:

Limbaugh apologizes to student he called 'slut'

Women react to Rush's apology: Not accepted?

CNBC's Ryan Ruggiero contributed to this report.

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Advertisers may be fleeing his radio show, but conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh is poised to be added to the Hall of Famous Missourians in the state Capitol.

House Speaker Steven Tilley said this week he decided to honor Limbaugh months ago, long before the most recent controversy. The Republican lawmaker and Limbaugh, who was born in Cape Girardeau, Mo., are both from the state's southeastern corner.

Inductees are chosen by the speaker of the Missouri House and the bronze busts are paid for by the Speaker’s Annual Golf Classic.

AOL suspends ads on Rush Limbaugh show

Limbaugh's show has lost nine advertisers -- including AOL, mortgage lender Quicken Loans and florist ProFlowers -- since he referred last week to a female law student involved in the national debate about insurance coverage for contraception as a "slut" and "prostitute." Limbaugh has since apologized to Sandra Fluke.

"I do not think she was either of those two words," Limbaugh said on his radio show. Fluke testified last week in support of a requirement that health care companies, even those affiliated with religious institutions, provide coverage for contraception. She later dismissed Limbaugh’s apology, saying it changed nothing.

Student called 'slut' by Limbaugh dismisses apology

The advocacy organization Progress Missouri has already launched a petition protesting the choice of Limbaugh for the hall and calling on Tilley to reverse his decision.

The speaker is defending his choice, saying Limbaugh is among the world's best-known radio personalities.

According to the Kansas City Star, Tilley said Monday that the ceremony will go on as planned and that he is “honored” to have chosen Limbaugh to be included in the hall alongside Missourians such as Harry Truman, Mark Twain, Walter Cronkite and George Washington Carver.

“It’s not the ‘Hall of Universally Loved Missourians,’ ” Tilley told the paper. “It’s the 'Hall of Famous Missourians.'”

According to the Star, Tilley pointed to other current hall members -- including Mark Twain -- who also had a history of making controversial comments.

On Monday, Limbaugh told listeners on his radio show that while he was sorry to see some advertisers go, "they have profited handsomely from you."

The paper said Limbaugh’s bust is being made by Kansas City sculptor E. Spencer Schubert, who is also working on the bust of another Missourian being inducted into the hall this year — Dred Scott, the African-American slave who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom in 1857.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Several days after criticizing a Georgetown student who advocated for the availability of birth control and calling her a "slut," conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh issued an apology to Sandra Fluke on his website, saying "in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize."

Limbaugh sparked outcry that crossed political lines on Friday when he mocked the fact that Fluke, who advocated for the availability of contraception at a recent hearing before congressional Democrats, received a phone call from President Barack Obama arguing, she should "disconnect the phone. I'd go into hiding and hope the media didn't find me."

Limbaugh also denied he was opposed to birth control, according to a transcript of his show. “This is about expanding the reach and power of government into your womb, if you're a woman. This is about the Democrat Party wanting more and more control over you.  What was early feminism all about? Emancipation, individuality, freedom, liberation, all of these things. Now here comes Danica Patrick out and she says, 'I'm perfectly comfortable letting the government make my health decisions for me.' Well, folks, I'm gonna tell you: Right there, that's the death and the end of feminism.”

The furor was sparked by Limbaugh's comments on Wednesday, when he branded Fluke a "slut" for her support of the administration's new policy on contraception. The radio show host repeated the charges on Thursday, saying: "Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You'd call 'em a slut, a prostitute or whatever."

In his statement on his website on Saturday, Limbaugh said, "For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week.  In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke."

Despite furor, Limbaugh refuses to back down

He went on to add, however, "I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line?"

He continued, "In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone's bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level."

But the brief statement concluded apologetically: "My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.

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Despite an outcry that has crossed political lines, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh did not back down Friday from his criticism of a Georgetown student who advocated for the availability of birth control at a recent hearing before congressional Democrats.

During his latest show, he mocked the fact that Sandra Fluke received a phone call from President Barack Obama, insisting that given her testimony about birth control, she should "disconnect the phone. I'd go into hiding and hope the media didn't find me."

Limbaugh also denied he was opposed to birth control, according to a transcript of his show. “This is about expanding the reach and power of government into your womb, if you're a woman. This is about the Democrat Party wanting more and more control over you.  What was early feminism all about? Emancipation, individuality, freedom, liberation, all of these things. Now here comes Danica Patrick out and she says, "I'm perfectly comfortable letting the government make my health decisions for me." Well, folks, I'm gonna tell you: Right there, that's the death and the end of feminism.”

The furor was sparked by Limbaugh's comments on Wednesday, when he branded Fluke a "slut" for her support of the administration's new policy on contraception. The radio show host repeated the charges on Thursday, saying: "Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You'd call 'em a slut, a prostitute or whatever."

Vitals: Women roar back at Rush's rhetoric

Religious-affiliated organizations, the Roman Catholic Church and social conservatives have protested an administration policy requiring contraception coverage in health insurance provided by religious-affiliated institutions as an infringement on religious liberty. An effort by Republicans in the Senate to overturn it failed this week.

A call from Obama
Fluke has spoken out against the Republican effort and advocated making contraception available to all women, drawing fire from Limbaugh and some other conservative commentators.

However, she has drawn broad support from Democrats. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California decried Limbaugh's comments as "outside the circle of civilized discussion and that unmask the strong disrespect for women held by some in this country." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee additionally sought donations as a result of the outrage.

"I think my reaction was the reaction that a lot of women have had when, historically, they've been called these types of names and that really I think ... and that was initially, to be stunned by it, but then to quickly feel outraged and very upset by it," Fluke said about Limbaugh's remarks Friday on the TODAY show.

On Friday, the White House got involved.

"The president called her to thank her for speaking out ... and expressed his disappointment that she had been subjected to these kinds of attacks," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

Obama spoke with Fluke for several minutes from the Oval Office, Carney said, making clear the president was troubled by the remarks.

Woman called 'slut' by Limbaugh is 'stunned, outraged'

"He thinks they were reprehensible, they were disappointing," Carney said. "It is disappointing that those kinds of personal and crude attacks could be leveled against someone like this young law school student, who was simply expressing her opinion on a matter of public policy."

The president’s policy, which requires all employers that provide health insurance -- except for houses of worship and churches -- to provide coverage for women's contraceptives, has created a election-year firestorm. Non-employer-sponsored health insurance policies would also have to cover them.

Obama subsequently tweaked the policy so that religiously affiliated employers like hospitals, universities and charities would not be required to cover the cost, which would fall instead on insurers. That did not satisfy the Catholic Church, whose official policy rejects the use of artificial contraceptives.

GOP criticism
Limbaugh's comments have also been criticized by Republican leaders.

Speaker John Boehner did not approve of the radio host's language, his spokesman Michael Steel said Friday. "The speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is trying to raise money off the situation." Steel was referring to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has started a campaign characterizing the debate over women's  contraception as "the Republican War on Women."

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Limbaugh was "being absurd" in his comments, describing the radio host as an "entertainer" taking an absurd point of view.

Meantime, advertisers have come under pressure to withdraw their ads from his show and at least three companies, Quicken Loans and bedding retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, bowed to the pressure.

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Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, already under fire from Democrats over his language in discussing a Georgetown University law student who testified about contraception, ratcheted up his rhetoric on Thursday, saying the student should post an online sex video if taxpayers are forced to pay for contraception.

Limbaugh on Wednesday had referred to student Sandra Fluke as a “slut” for supporting a requirement that health insurance cover contraception. On his radio show Thursday, Limbaugh went a little further:

"So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had called on Limbaugh to apologize Thursday about the “slut” comment, made after Fluke testified recently about contraception before an unofficial Democratic committee.

Here's what Limbaugh said on Wednesday’s edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

"What does it say about the college coed Susan Fluke [sic], who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex.

"She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We're the pimps.

"The johns, that's right. We would be the johns -- no! We're not the johns. Well -- yeah, that's right. Pimp's not the right word."

Fluke had been turned away in February from testifying before the Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the Obama administration's policy requiring that employees of religion-affiliated institutions have access to health insurance that covers birth control.

The Health and Human Services Department ruled earlier this year that, under the new health care law, religious-affiliated institutions such as hospitals and universities must include free birth control coverage in their employee health plans.

That mandate has raised a storm of criticism and protests from Catholic leaders and others who disapprove of contraception on religious grounds. The issue continues to divide the Congress. On Thursday, the Senate defeated a proposal that would have allowed employers and health plans to opt out of paying for medical services that are contrary to their religious beliefs or moral convictions.

Fluke later testified at an unofficial Democratic-sponsored hearing on Feb. 23, where her comments about the importance of reproductive health care to women drew applause from a small group in attendance, including Pelosi.

She said that contraception can cost a woman more than $3,000 during law school.

On Thursday, Pelosi denounced Limbaugh's comments about Fluke and called on GOP leaders and members to denounce the “slut” remark:

"When Sandra Fluke testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee after Republicans attempted to silence, she courageously spoke truth to power. As a result, today, she has been subject to attacks that are outside the circle of civilized discussion and that unmask the strong disrespect for women held by some in this country. We call upon the Republican leaders in the House to condemn these vicious attacks on Ms. Fluke, which are in response to her testimony to the Congress. Democrats will always stand up for women's health and women's voices."

Fluke released a statement Thursday in response to Limbaugh's rhetoric, saying "numerous commentators have gone far beyond the acceptable bounds of civil discourse.

"No woman deserves to be disrespected in this manner. This language is an attack on all women, and has been used throughout history to silence our voices.

"The millions of American women who have and will continue to speak out in support of women's health care and access to contraception prove that we will not be silenced."

Meanwhile, a bomb squad was called to Limbaugh's house in Palm Beach after a suspicious package was reported there. 

Security staff for the iconic conservative talk show host found a package with an electronic plaque that they believed was suspicious and contacted authorities, WPTV reported.

But the package, delivered to his North Ocean Boulevard home, was actually a "business opportunity" from a radio listener, a Palm Beach Police spokesman told The Palm Beach Post.

Read more about the Limbaugh bomb scare at NBCMiami.com

When the bomb squad opened the package at about 7 p.m., it saw that it contained an electronic plaque on President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, spokesman Fred Hess said.

Police were able to get in touch with the sender in Pennsylvania, who apologized for sending a package that could be construed as dangerous, according to WPTV.

NBC News' Luke Russert and msnbc.com's Sylvia Wood contributed to this report, which includes material from NBCMiami.com.

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