Is Rush's Ebay auction even legal?

[BushOut06]

Is it legal for someone to auction off a private correspondence from one person to another person? The letter that Rush is auctioning off was a private letter from Sen. Reid to Clear Channel's CEO.

I can't believe that there are so many morons out there who would actually bid on it. We had someone on one of our local reich-winger talk shows yesterday afternoon bragging that he had placed a $800,000 bid on it.

[RB TexLa]

1. Why would it not be? If the CEO gave it to him he can do whatever he wishes with it.

[Common Sense Party]

2. I don't see how it wouldn't be legal.

But I think most of these bids are fake. Who's actually going to PAY $2 million for a letter?

[Sadie4629]

7. The bidders had to be pre-approved or something

Rush rubs elbows with a lot of people with big bucks. To many of them a couple of million to a good charity is nothing (especially when they get a big tax break for doing so.)

[bryant69]

3. What law are you thinking of, that this would be a violation of? n/t

[Zywiec]

4. What's illegal about selling a letter? Why do you even care

about what he's doing? I don't give him one thought.

[Toots]

5. This just re-enforces that old saying

"A fool and their money are soon parted"

[Sadie4629]

6. I'm no lawyer,

but it seems to be simple common sense that a letter becomes the personal property of the recipient. If the recipient chooses to give the letter to another person, then it becomes the property of that person. In this case the recipient (CEO of Clear Channel) gave the letter to Limbaugh who can do with it whatever he pleases.

At any rate, the Marine Corps scholarship fund is going to get at leaset $4 million from this, so I don't think it's a bad thing at all.

[unpossibles]

8. I just love it

some asshat who is too greedy to pay taxes because some of the money might go to poor people will shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for this. fuckin moron.

[Sadie4629]

9. Not just hundreds of thousands

The bid is over $2 million, now.

[unpossibles]

17. wow.

crazy stupid.

[npincus]

10. I hope a rich liberal buys it and has a bonfire.

[yellowcanine]

11. Who really gives a crap how the wingnuts want to spend their money? I don't..

If they want to give it to Oxyman, so be it. I believe if you receive a letter from someone you can do anything you want with it - including giving it to someone else.

[slackmaster]

12. When you receive a private letter, that letter becomes your property

You can do whatever you want with it.

[John Kerry VonErich]

13. Very legal

The letter was given to him by the CEO

[onenote]

14. if he came into possession of the letter legally (which apparently he did), of course its legal

[tuckessee]

15. Yes, it's perfectly legal.

Be mad at your senators for stooping to write Slimebaugh.

They should never give a pig like him the publicity.

Also, they should never tell private citizens what to say.

[Xenotime]

16. What about the signatures on this page getting out in the public?

I see this as a potential use of fraud by the right.

[Sadie4629]

18. What do you mean? n/t

[Common Sense Party]

22. What?

:wtf:

The signatures out in public? These are Senators, fercryinoutloud.

Their signatures aren't secret.

Every senator's office sends out hundreds, maybe thousands, of form letters with the senator's signature every week.

I'm just not sure what you think can happen by their signatures getting out in public.

There is no illegality about this. And since the money is going to a decent charity, what's the big whoop?

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Yes, this is a leter from the Senate

it is a document that has a copy in the congressional record

It is a historic primary source

So yes, it is very legal

In fact, I could sell every letter we have gotten from these guys over the last seven years too

Who'd want mostly form letters? But you get the point

[Rhythm and Blue]

20. I'm not familiar with the story at all.

Can someone point me to the original link? Thanks.

[spanone]

21. a fool and his money....