for
JENNA 'N BARB
...www.bushwatch.com
for
JENNA 'N BARB
...www.bushwatch.com
"'Everybody . . . can project back to what it's like to be a freshman in college and cannot imagine to have your dad be in a position such as president of the United States,' he told Texas reporters in 1998. '[The twins] come to me and say, 'Are you serious?' 'Since then, the twins have been quoted both directly and indirectly making the same point. Countless others have commiserated with them. This was the gist of...e-mails to me: On account of their father, these kids are prisoners of fame who cannot live a normal life. This is a tragedy beyond words. Of course, I can sympathize. Who can want to be trailed by Secret Service agents? Who can want his or her every transgression reported in the press? I felt this most keenly in Chelsea Clinton's case. She supposedly read the Starr report online. Can you imagine? Can you imagine your child -- I mean your very own child -- reading an account of your sex life, even in the event it is confined to your own marriage? Can you imagine being that child? The term child abuse gets thrown around a lot, but this surely was it. Is it too late to jail Ken Starr?
But barring the truly exceptional and horrendous, why should we feel sorry for these kids? Am I alone in thinking that it must be swell to have a father who is president? Wouldn't it be great to sleep in the White House (people have paid fortunes for the privilege), romp at Camp David, put out your thumb and hitch a ride on Marine One? Can this compare to an illegal margarita? Please! To be a touch more substantive, who could not want to be a witness to history, to get to meet the great, the notorious, the odious and, on a slow day, Trent Lott? Who could not know the difference between the trivial and the momentous and when one takes priority over the other? And yet those questions never come up. It is as if the Bush twins are poster kids not just for their generation but also for our times. They personify how our attitudes have changed toward public service in general and Washington in particular. Their presumed choice seems perfectly natural. The juvenile antics of college life somehow get elevated so that they become as important -- no, more important -- than the incredible gift of having a father who is president....Our willingness to consider their gift as their plight, their access as their imprisonment, their youth as their entitlement and not their obligation, speaks volumes not about them but about us. We sing a different song since Bush the elder went marching off to war -- nothing about serving a greater cause and everything about a place called Margaritaville. --Richard Cohen, 6/15/01
"On June 8... [the editors of the Austin American-Statesman] had questions -- if not conclusions -- about whether the Bush twins were given preferred treatment and whether Chuy's was being singled out for abuse. Of course, we can expect a president's daughters who live in the gaze of the Secret Service to get special treatment, but preferred treatment under the law is the issue. Our editors weren't the only ones with questions. A disagreement is going on over this involving police, prosecutors, defense lawyers and perhaps others. Jenna Bush, who allegedly used a fake identification card, was charged with a Class C misdemeanor, when court records suggest that most violators are charged with the more serious Class B misdemeanor, which brings with it arrest instead of citation. The documents show Secret Service agents escorted the 19-year-olds to a Jeep Cherokee and advised Austin police that the girls were leaving, until police told the agents they needed to stay. Police state flatly that the Secret Service didn't interfere with the investigation, but did the 19-year-olds decide on their own to leave, or were they encouraged?
"Further, we question whether Chuy's is being subjected to special scrutiny by police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, whose members are Bush appointees. If not, why did a police commander ask Detective Mark Gil to ask about "the manner Chuy's business handled routine matters that involved underage customers attempting to purchase alcoholic beverages." It is interesting that police reported Mia Lawrence, the Chuy's manager, "wanted 'them' (the Bush twins) to be set as examples and criminally charged." A hint that Austin Democrats are lurking on Barton Springs Road? We are shocked. Even with that, it is unsettling to give a restaurant the third degree for calling police. Is the TABC leaning on Chuy's? TABC Sgt. Randy Motz was quoted in press reports, "They (Chuy's) served two minors, and we want to know how this happened." He said nothing was unusual about this.
"So Chuy's is questioned by the city for calling police, then is questioned by the state for not calling police about the two minors in the group who allegedly were served, Barbara Bush and 20-year-old Jesse Day-Wickham. Gil reports: "I asked Mia Lawrence (the restaurant manager) if she called the Austin American-Statesman. She told me a regular customer named Owen had been in the business during all of this and had called the Statesman. Mia told me someone from the Statesman named Mike called her on the phone and she gave him a run down over the phone of the incident." What reason do police have for interrogating witnesses about who is calling the newspaper? I asked Chief Stan Knee, who said: "There is none. I haven't talked with (Gil) so I don't know why he included that information. It really doesn't have any bearing other than perhaps he thought there may be a witness that they didn't know about." The reason I worry about this, as an editor, is that such questions can "chill" the willingness of people to respond to the press, for fear of making police unhappy. The citations of Barbara and Jenna Bush were not significant. Uneven enforcement of laws, if that indeed occurred, would be a very big deal." --Rich Oppel, 6/12/01
American Politics Journal's Pamela Parker wrote yesterday that there is "a bitter jihad of retaliation against Chuy's, the Austin restaurant at which the young lushes violated the law -- and the bar manager who did the right thing and phoned police. The attacks against Mia Lawrence, the bar manager, are being orchestrated on the Internet. Her address, date of birth, drivers license and registration information, physical description, and even birth information about her infant child have been posted on Freerepublic.com, along with calls for punitive actions. Freerepublic.com Web site's sysop pulled some of the information as it was called to his attention -- to his credit -- but the info has circulated and been posted to other Internet forums to spread the 'Get Lawrence' frenzy." "Wednesday," writes Salon's Anthony York, "a new thread on the Free Republic popped up with the title 'Chuy's Manager, Mia Lawrence, Holds Press Conference, Apologizes for Being Snitch.' But inside, there was no link to an article, just a photo of Linda Tripp....Meanwhile," continues York, "the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has launched an investigation into the restaurant because Bush's daughter Barbara and another 19-year-old were served alcohol. 'They served two minors, and I want to know why,' said Capt. David Ball, TABC enforcement supervisor in Austin. 'WOW, they just shot themselves in the foot,' writes Free Republic poster TexMex. 'When TABC flags an establishment for liquer violations they don't let up. You folks [who] think the ATF and the FBI are intrusive have never dealt with TABC, gestapo at its finest.'" --Politex, 6/11/01
--> STATESMAN Editorial: "Whining" Bush Twins Appear To Have Received "Preferential" Treatment By Officials
"Fallout from the president's daughters' foolish outing at Chuy's Restaurant last week continues to build as new questions arise about special treatment the underage twins received after they were accused of using false identification to buy alcohol. There is no question that 19-year-old Jenna and Barbara Bush received special treatment after they were caught in the popular restaurant on Barton Springs Road. How could they not? They're the daughters of the president and travel everywhere with Secret Service protection. But that doesn't entitle them to preferential treatment. It appears that's what they received by being cited for a Class C misdemeanor rather than the more serious Class B usually given to minors trying to buy alcohol with phony identification. It's particularly troubling considering that Jenna was known to be on probation for a previous highly publicized conviction for possessing alcohol as a minor.
"Statistics from Austin Municipal Court show that most minors cited for using false ID to buy alcohol receive the higher charge. In what can only be described as a wry twist of fate, the twins' father, when he was governor, signed the 1999 law increasing the charge for using false identification to purchase alcoholic beverages. It is a legitimate question to ask if the lighter treatment was a misuse of official power. The lower charge also creates serious headaches for Travis County Attorney Ken Oden, whose office prosecutes misdemeanors. Oden can expect lawyers for minors facing Class B charges of using fake IDs to ask that their clients be treated just as Jenna Bush was.... Minors wanting to drink alcohol, whether privileged progeny or not, rarely consider the consequences for those they put at risk. Chuy's staff may not have followed the book perfectly in the case, but it wasn't a normal situation....
"But the important issues are whether there was official pressure to go easy on the twins and what the lesser charge does to subvert the legal process. The rest is mostly background noise that always follows when famous people get caught in awkward situations. As for Jenna and Barbara Bush, the public humiliation they caused themselves and their parents should be sobering. Whining that their social lives are constricted by their father's office isn't going to change a thing. If they don't want public embarrassment, they shouldn't break the law." --Austin American-Statesman Editorial, 6/9/01
The drinking problems of President Bush's teenage daughters Jenna and Barbara have triggered an all-out First Family feud! "An angry and tearful Laura Bush wants to come down hard on the 19-year-old twins after they were nabbed by Austin, Tex., cops on May 29 and charged with underage drinking violations. But George W. Bush doesn't want to discipline his girls, sources told The ENQUIRER. "Laura Bush is fit to be tied about George's attitude," said a Bush family source. "But the girls have their father wrapped around their fingers. The President doesn't think the girls need reigning in. He and Laura are at loggerheads." Sources told The ENQUIRER the First Lady wants her girls to get counseling for their drinking problems. And she wants Jenna -- a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin who had another alcohol citation a few weeks earlier -- to drop out of school, move into the White House and enroll in a college nearby." --NATIONAL ENQUIRER, 6/9/01
"Public records suggest... that little has been routine about how investigators handled the Bush case during and after the episode at Chuy's restaurant on Barton Springs Road....The Bush twins were cited May 31 for Class C violations of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code — Jenna for attempting to use someone else's identification to order a drink, Barbara for being a minor in possession of alcohol. On Thursday, Barbara Bush pleaded no contest through her lawyer, Gerry Morris. A municipal judge sentenced her to deferred adjudication — a form of probation — 24 hours of community service and an alcohol awareness class. [Jenna had previously pleaded not guilty and her case will be heard on July 31, although she will not be present in court.] Like Barbara Bush, most underage drinkers receive Class C tickets for first and even subsequent offenses. However, since September 1999 police have usually charged people using fake identification to buy alcohol with a more serious offense — a Class B violation of the Texas Transportation Code. Class B offenses typically result in arrest. Records on file in Austin Municipal Court show that only one person this year has been given a Class C citation for attempting to use a fake identification to buy alcohol, said Rebecca Stark, the court clerk. That's Jenna Bush, she said. President Bush, when he was Texas' governor, signed the 1999 law in the Transportation Code that increased the charge for using false identification from a Class C to a Class B misdemeanor. In 1999, 50 people were charged with the Class C offense in Austin. Last year, the number dropped to three. Meanwhile, court records show at least 67 people have been charged with the Class B misdemeanor for trying to buy alcohol with a fake identification since the law took effect on Sept. 1, 1999." --Austin American-Statesman, 6/8/01
Word from Drudge today is that PEOPLE magazine is doing a Jenna 'n Barb cover story for its next edition and it will be out early next week. When PEOPLE ran a story on Chelsea Clinton in '99, Bush was talking about the "meat grinder" media politics of Washington and expressed fear that if he were to be the resident he might face the same kind of coverage with respect to Jenna 'n Barb. "If the president and Mrs. Clinton are disappointed that their daughter's on the cover of the magazine," Bush said at the time, " I'm disappointed for them." He went on to note, " I'm beginning to understand better how teen-agers feel. It's a sensitive age. I respect their desire for privacy. I'm sorry it happened. My most important job is father, so I'm concerned, as I say, about the meat-grinder of national politics." Another cause for his concern in '99, of course, was that, as we later learned, Bush was trying to hide the history of his DWI from his daughters because, as he said at the time of the DWI exposure the week before the elections, he didn't want to set a bad example. Two years prior to the '99 attack on the media by Bush, Jenna had her first scrape with the law over alcohol, according to a recent story in the Houston Chronicle. (see below) Drudge also reports that the NATIONAL ENQUIRER "is planning to run quotes from a college student alleging that he smoked pot with both Bush daughters," possibly a follow-up to a previous NATIONAL ENQUIRER story which Bush Watch reported in March. (see below) --Politex, 6/7/01
SALON: Last week, the police nabbed Jenna Bush on her second alcohol-related incident in a month. Does President Bush have an obligation to address this matter publicly, considering that he ran on a platform stressing a return to moral values and the betterment of child welfare?
AL FRANKEN: Well, he didn't help himself during his Yale commencement address when he said he didn't remember a lot from his time there. He did a joke essentially saying, "I was drunk a lot." I think that was probably not the right joke to tell when your daughter is having these problems. I could see the joke about being a "C" student, but he should probably say something publicly like he doesn't approve of underage drinking or something. [Laughs] I think that's sort of the least he can do.
SALON: Considering the nature of their recent behavior, are the Bush girls fair game for the media now?
AL FRANKEN: Well, I think that he is. I will point out that Chelsea Clinton, in the eight years her father was president, didn't get arrested once. The problem with Jenna is that it's been twice in four months. A third time -- it's three strikes and you're out in Texas -- and they'll have to execute her. Bad....
SALON: In the spirit of Sen. Jim Jeffords' defection, what would you say to convince another Republican to switch allegiances?
AL FRANKEN: Actually, I think the Bushes are trying to get Jenna to switch." Interview, 6/6/01
"The owners of Chuy’s restaurants in Austin are apologizing for the way their eatery on Barton Springs Road dealt with an alleged alcohol incident involving Jenna and Barbara Bush last week. Mike Young, who owns the Mexican food restaurants with John Zapp, said the Barton Springs staff mishandled the May 29 incident that led to misdemeanor citations against the twin daughters of President Bush. But Young said he understood why it happened the way it did. “Usually we wouldn’t have handled this in the way it was handled,” he said Monday. “With that said, these are very unusual circumstances. A packed restaurant with high-profile celebrities there puts a lot of pressure on your management team.” The restaurant’s owners have received “tons” of calls and e-mails about the incident, Young said. They run the gamut of opinions, he said, although many are supportive. People who send e-mail about the Bush incident through the Chuy’s Web site get a copy of a form letter dated June 1 in which Young and Zapp apologize for the events of May 29. “We realize that many of you are upset with the recent occurrence at our Barton Springs location, and we want you to know that we are too,” Young and Zapp wrote in the message. --Austin American-Statesman, 6/5/01
"His dark-haired daughter Barbara, who just finished her freshman year at Yale, is generally described in the press as the quiet and studious type, while blond twin Jenna is pictured as the good-time girl. The reality is more complicated. Barbara, too, likes to party, according to her Yale friends and classmates, but she is usually more discreet, though not always. Last October she was caught using a fake ID at a New Haven bar called Toad’s Place. The security guard, Bill Coale, did not call the police, but he did keep the ID, which is now framed and hanging in his family room. The ID identifies the president’s daughter as “Barbara Pierce” (her grandmother’s maiden name), adds exactly three years to her birth date and gives a bogus Baltimore address. Some friends call Barbara “the instigator,” and say that Jenna is just the unlucky one who gets caught. While charming and ebullient, Jenna is a little “spacey,” say her friends, and prone to pratfalls. At the Inaugural ball, her strapless dress slipped down while she was dancing with her father...."
"Last Tuesday at about 10:15 p.m., when the 19-year-old was caught using a borrowed ID card to buy a Margarita. She pleaded—or, according to some accounts, demanded—to be let off the hook, but the restaurant bartender reportedly replied, “You think I’m going to put my liquor license on the line for you?” The manager called 911 instead. The police arrived and two days later Jenna and her twin sister, Barbara, were cited by the authorities for underage-drinking violations....Some friends of the Bush family have dubbed Jenna “Barbara’s revenge,” meaning that George W is now getting his just deserts for tormenting his own mother when he was a boy. Last week, in a speech to the Junior League of Indianapolis, former First Lady Barbara Bush drolly remarked that she was amazed the president was the same person she had to nag to clean his room. She added, rolling her eyes, “He is getting back some of his own.... Both girls are now marked when they go out on the town. Friendly bartenders may protect them, but others, especially those who disapprove of President Bush’s politics, will not. Under a new Texas law cracking down on underage drinking, Jenna could lose her license and conceivably face a little jail time if she gets caught a third time. The strict law, crafted by lawmakers championing “family values,” was signed by her father, the then Texas Gov. George W. Bush." --Newsweek, 6/4/01
NEW HAVEN, January 20, 2001 — "Barbara Bush...hasn't let her celebrity status or Secret Service agents stop her from enjoying an active social life during her freshman year at Yale, according to her classmates. Although Bush, 19, has generally tried not to call attention to herself, she started tongues wagging on campus when, classmates say, she had a phony ID card confiscated at Toad's Place and was ordered to leave. 'She was angry when that happened,' said Aileen Farrell, a freshman friend of Bush's who was with her at Toad's that night several months ago. 'But she didn't make a big deal about it.' Toad's owner Brian Phelps said he didn't know anything about the incident....But Bush has caught flak from the Yale undergraduate humor magazine Rumpus, which identifies her as 'Frosh X.' The Rumpus writer sarcastically sympathized with 'Frosh X' for having her fake ID confiscated at Toad's Place and made some unflattering comments about her father. Randall Beach, New Haven Register staff, 1/20/01 (Posted 4/10/01)
"The Bushes were part of a five-person group sitting at a table in the [Chuy's] restaurant Tuesday night when other patrons, a waitress and a bartender recognized Jenna Bush, who will be a sophomore at the University of Texas. Mia Lawrence, the restaurant's manager, said she asked to see Jenna Bush's driver's license. The picture on the license, however, looked "slightly off," Lawrence said, and had another person's name on it. "It was a valid Texas driver's license; it just wasn't hers," Lawrence said. Other people at the table with Jenna Bush had what appeared to be valid identification, including her sister. Barbara Bush, whom the restaurant staff didn't recognize, was served a margarita and a tequila shot, Lawrence said.
"Lawrence said she called 911 and reported that Jenna Bush was trying to buy alcohol with someone else's identification. Lawrence said one of the officers who responded, Sgt. Rodney Keene, asked her what she wanted to do about the situation. "He suggested that I turn the other cheek," she said. "I said I felt the police should do what they normally do." Police said Keene was not available for comment. Police spokeswoman Sally Muir said, "I never heard that." Bartenders and managers typically deal with fake identifications by confiscating them or refusing service, not by calling 911, [Assistant Police Chief Jimmy] Chapman said. Whether Chuy's routinely calls 911 to report minors who are attempting to buy alcohol couldn't be determined Thursday. The restaurant was referring questions to a spokesman who could not be reached. The group was getting ready to leave the restaurant when police arrived, [Assistant Police Chief Jimmy] Chapman said. Chapman said there was too much commotion at the restaurant Tuesday night to issue the tickets. "It got kind of convoluted," he said. Instead, police sent the girls on their way with Secret Service agents and continued to interview witnesses....The Bushes signed the [police citations] at their lawyer's office Thursday. Both charges are Class C misdemeanors under the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code and carry a fine of up to $500, attendance at an alcohol awareness course, community service and 30-day driver's license suspension. "They were very cooperative," Assistant Police Chief Jimmy Chapman said." --Austin American-Statesman, 6/1/01
"Police cited the 19-year-old twin daughters of President Bush on Thursday on misdemeanor alcohol-related charges. It was Jenna Bush's second alcohol-related brush with the law in two months, and Barbara Bush's first. The Houston Chronicle also has learned the ticket could mark Jenna's third alcohol-related incident. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission confirmed Thursday that Jenna Bush is listed in its database for an alcohol-related on Dec. 31, 1997. The database contains the names of people who have violated the Alcoholic Beverage Commission code, but commission officials would not say whether Jenna Bush's name appears for a citation, a warning or an administrative action. Nor would the commission release any other details about the incident because Jenna was a minor at the time. But the 1997 incident occurred just months after the Texas Legislature passed and her father, who was then Texas governor, signed into law a package of bills that toughened the consequences for underaged drinkers. The legal drinking age in Texas is 21....
"We treated [the alcohol-related incident at Chuy's] just like it was a 19-year-old with the last name of Smith. We did what we do with everybody else," [Austin Assistant Police Chief Jimmy] Chapman said...."People at the bar identified and told people at the bar, 'You know we think this is Jenna Bush,' which got more spotlight than it normally would," Chapman said.... Though the offenses are minor and carry no jail time, authorities could issue a warrant to arrest Jenna Bush for violating a court order she received May 16 on an unrelated underage drinking charge. She was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol on April 27 by undercover Austin police officers who were part of a special unit that looks for underage drinkers in Sixth Street clubs. Jenna Bush was ordered to serve eight hours of community service, take six hours of alcohol counseling and pay $51.25 in court costs. The sentence could have been worse. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code calls for a 30-day suspension of a driver's license on a first offense, whether the defendant is convicted or there is a deferred disposition as there was in Jenna Bush's case. Sgt. Randy Motz of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said the code does not allow the judge discretion on ordering the suspension. "It's a `shall' provision in the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code," he said. Austin Community Court Judge Elisabeth Earle, who issued the deferred order for Bush, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Now, with the second offense before her, Earle can order Bush to pay the $500 and suspend her driver's license for up to 90 days. If arrested a third time, the offense is upgraded to a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a $2,000 fine and up to six months in jail. If a ticket was issued in 1997, it would not count as a third offense under Texas law because Jenna Bush would have been a 16-year-old minor at the time. --Houston Chronicle, 6/1/01
"Police issued misdemeanor citations to President Bush's twin teenage daughters on Thursday for alleged underage drinking at a restaurant in Austin, Texas, earlier this week. Jenna Bush, in her second such run-in with the law in just over a month, was cited for misrepresenting her age as she tried to buy alcohol while her sister Barbara was cited for possession of alcohol by a minor, Austin police said in a statement. Both women are 19 while Texas law prohibits anyone under age 21 from buying or drinking alcohol. Jenna, a student at the University of Texas, pleaded no contest earlier this month to a charge of possession of alcohol by a minor after undercover police found her drinking beer as they checked for underage drinkers in an Austin bar. She was sentenced to eight hours of community service and a six-hour alcohol awareness course. A third person, Jesse Day-Wickham, was also cited for possession of alcohol by a minor in the latest incident.
"The manager of Chuy's Mexican restaurant in Austin called police to the premises on Tuesday evening and told them that minors had tried to buy alcohol, police said. Jenna ordered an alcoholic drink and was asked to show identification to prove she was 21. ``Jenna Bush allegedly displayed a valid driver's license that belonged to someone else. Jenna was refused the alcohol beverage,'' the police statement said. Witnesses told police that Barbara Bush, a Yale student, and Jesse Day-Wickham ordered alcohol and were served. Police had already disclosed on Wednesday that the Bush twins were under investigation for alcohol-related offenses." --Reuters, Thursday, May 31, 2001, 7:24 p.m. ET
AP UPDATE OF THE ABOVE, 8:15 p.m. ET..."Police on Thursday cited President Bush (news - web sites)'s 19-year-old twin daughters for allegedly violating state alcoholic beverage laws. It would be the second offense for Jenna Bush and the first for her sister, Barbara. Police accused Barbara Bush of being a minor in possession of alcohol and Jenna Bush of misrepresenting her age for allegedly trying to use false identification to buy alcohol, according to a statement from the Austin Police Department. Both are Class C misdemeanors under the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code and carry a fine of up to $500, attendance at an alcohol awareness course, community service and 30-day driver's license suspension. If convicted, Jenna Bush could lose her driver's license for up to 90 days because it would be a second offense, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. A third person, Jesse Day-Wickham, also was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol. An associate of the Bush family said Day-Wickham is a girlfriend of the Bush twins. A police investigation determined that Jenna Bush allegedly ordered a margarita and was asked to produce identification proving she was 21. She showed a valid driver's license belonging to someone else, police said. She was not served. Witnesses told police that Barbara Bush and Day-Wickham were served alcohol. Assistant Police Chief Jimmy Chapman said the bar checked IDs, but he did not know what ID Barbara Bush and Day-Wickham used. The ID Jenna Bush allegedly used was confiscated and charges could be forthcoming, he said. Chapman said other patrons at Chuy's Restaurant recognized Jenna Bush and told restaurant employees before the manager called 911 Tuesday night to report that minors were attempting to buy alcohol." --AP, 5/31/01
"The White House asked the media on Thursday to think twice before pursuing more stories about President Bush's daughter's legal problems stemming from alleged underage drinking. "I would urge all of you to very carefully think through how much you want to pursue this," press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters in Washington, D.C. "I understand that there's a question of law. I've never called anybody or suggested to anybody that the coverage today is in any way inappropriate. But to go beyond that I would urge you to be very careful because any reaction of the parents is parental; it is not governmental. It is family. It's private and the American people respect that." Fleischer spoke two days after Austin police received a report that 19-year-old Jenna Bush tried to get served at a restaurant by using someone else's identification." --AP, 5/31/01
" The zone of privacy that President and Laura Bush have sought to create around their family is gradually shrinking as their daughter Jenna continues to garner national attention related to underage drinking. Jenna Bush and her twin sister, Barbara, both 19-year-old college freshmen, were approached by police Tuesday night at a restaurant in Austin, Texas, after Jenna tried to buy alcohol with someone else's identification, police said....Underage drinking is hardly a rarity for college-age youths, and Jenna Bush has not been charged with any of the most serious drinking offenses, such as driving under the influence. But a shroud of privacy has not quite covered her since her father entered the White House, partly because of public incidents like the one this week. "Any news about his daughter is important symbolically, because presidents and their families have a public image that is pristine," says Robert Dallek, a presidential historian."The children have to walk a fine line."...
" With the latest underage drinking reports, the daughters' lives are lurching further into the headlines. "When you're a president's daughter, and you're getting written up with citations, that is news - how could it not be?" said Douglas Brinkley, another presidential scholar. "What one has to watch is, does she become the fodder for comedians connecting Jenna Bush's penchant for partying in Austin to her father's history with alcohol in the past?" Already, late-night TV is making that association. This month, a comedian on "Saturday Night Live" cracked: "Her father insists Jenna is going through a rebellious phase, and that, just like him, she'll grow out of it in 27 years." The stories about drinking take on resonance because of George W. Bush's own history. He turned his rejection of alcohol, at age 40, into a campaign touchstone about his spiritual awakening. Just before the election, it surfaced that as a 30-year-old, Bush had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. He said he never publicly revealed his arrest, which he blamed on his "irresponsible youth," to avoid setting a poor example for his daughters...."How the media handles presidents' children is always a sensitive, tricky bit," said Charles O. Jones, a presidential historian. "Chelsea seemed to avoid any serious questions. But for the most part, she stayed out of trouble, so there really wasn't much to cover. "But if Jenna gets into trouble, she isn't going to be treated like an ordinary kid."" --Ellen Gamerman, 5/31/01
"Collegemates of Jenna Bush are claiming to have made a homevideo of the president's daughter in a drunken state -- and students are now threatening to publicly release the tape! "It was a wild night, and she was feeling no pain," said a campus source. Jenna Bush, 19, was unknowingly captured on tape last month during a rowdy party attended by students of the University of Texas, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. "If the tape finds its way into the wrong hands, the White House is going to turn every shade of red," predicted one student who demanded anonymity. "Jenna should get the message, and get it fast, there are a few troublemakers on campus who are rooting for her to fall on her face. She is making it too easy for them." Meanwhile, Secret Service agents guarding the first family have been ordered not to directly interfere with President Bush's daughters, according to insiders, unless their direct safety is at risk. "Their father promised they could lead as much of a normal life as possible," a family source told the DRUDGE REPORT. Agents had been waiting outside of an Austin Tex-Mex restaurant Tuesday night when Jenna allegedly tried to buy margaritas using a fake ID. "The agents were driving," said the family source. "There was no drinking and driving concerns." The run in with the law comes less than two weeks after Ms. Bush pleaded no contest to charges of underage drinking. Now Bush may come within one strike of being sent to jail for six months under the three-strikes-and you're-out law that her father implemented as Texas governor." --Drudge Report, 5/31/01
"AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Police said Wednesday they were investigating whether President Bush's 19-year-old twin daughters illegally tried to buy alcohol at a restaurant. One of the twins, Jenna Bush, pleaded no contest to a charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol in an unrelated incident less than a month ago. Police responded to a 911 call Tuesday evening from the manager of Chuy's restaurant in Austin who said minors were trying to buy alcohol. Police spokesman Kevin Buchman said officers were told Jenna Bush tried to buy drinks using a third person's identification card. Her sister, Barbara Bush, was present but did not show any identification. ``As no offense was witnessed by APD officers, following routine procedures, further investigation is required to determine if any charges will be filed,'' a police statement said. Police would not give any information on the whereabouts of the daughters' Secret Service agents. The Secret Service also would not comment on the location of the agents. The legal drinking age in Texas is 21. Police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission are investigating. It is unclear what the punishment would be since it is unclear what type of ticket, if any, might be issued. Jenna Bush's attorney, William P. Allison, would not comment on the matter, said an employee in his office. White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined comment. ``If it involves the daughters in their private lives, it is a family matter,'' he said. When asked whether President Bush was aware of this latest incident, McClellan repeated the statement. Mark Dore, a manager at the restaurant, referred all questions to the corporate headquarters, which did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Jenna Bush's earlier no contest plea stemmed from a ticket police issued while checking for minors in possession of alcohol at nightclubs along the popular East Sixth Street entertainment district April 27. She was ordered to pay $51.25 in court costs, serve eight hours of community service and attend six hours of alcohol awareness classes. John Wall, who prosecuted that case, said if Jenna Bush is issued a ticket in this case her punishment might be revoked and authorities might seek a conviction. She also could have her driver's license suspended, he said. Jenna Bush is a student at the University of Texas at Austin. Barbara Bush attends Yale University." --AP, May 30, 2001, 10:03 EDT
"President Bush's 19-year-old twin daughters allegedly tried to purchase alcohol at a restaurant using someone else's identification card, police said Wednesday. Police said they received a 911 call Tuesday evening from the manager of Chuy's restaurant who said minors were attempting to purchase alcohol. Bush's daughters, Jenna and Barbara, ``were alleged to have been involved,'' according to a statement released by Austin police. ``As no offense was witnessed by APD officers, following routine procedures, further investigation is required to determine if any charges will be filed,'' the statement said. Austin police and the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission were investigating the incident. The legal drinking age in Texas is 21. Jenna Bush's attorney, William P. Allison, could not immediately be reached for comment. White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined comment." --AP, ``If it involves the daughters in their private lives, it is a family matter,'' he said. Mark Dore, a manager at the restaurant, referred all questions to the corporate offices, which did not return messages. Less than a month ago, Jenna Bush pleaded no contest to a charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol in connection with another incident. The plea stemmed from a ticket police issued while checking for minors in possession of alcohol at nightclubs along the popular East Sixth Street entertainment district April 27. She was ordered to pay $51.25 in court costs, serve eight hours of community service and attend six hours of alcohol awareness classes. Bush is a student at the University of Texas at Austin. Barbara attends Yale University." --AP, 5/30/01, 3:43 EDT. Note...Yahoo no longer has this version, the URL above is for the 3:01 version.
"Bush's daughter in more booze trouble...
Jenna has already been punished for under-age drinking
Jenna Bush, the daughter of President George W Bush, has got herself into more trouble over under-aged drinking.
Jenna, a 19-year-old first-year student at the University of Texas, was caught trying to buy alcohol at a Mexican restaurant in Austin on Tuesday evening.
She was using an ID belonging to somebody else, according to police.
The legal drinking age in Texas is 21.
Earlier this month [see below], Bush pleaded no contest to a charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol after police found her drinking beer in an Austin bar.
She was ordered to perform eight hours of community service and take an alcohol awareness course." --BBC, Wednesday, May 30, 2001
"AUSTIN, Texas -- Jenna Bush, one of President Bush's 19-year-old twin daughters, attempted to buy alcohol Tuesday night at an Austin, Texas, restaurant with someone else's identification, a police spokeswoman said. "She was attempting to purchase alcohol with a valid identification that was not hers," said Laura Albrecht, the police spokeswoman. She said police responded to a call at Chuy's Mexican restaurant but she could not say how the situation was ultimately handled. "She wasn't cited. She was not arrested," said Sally Muir, another public information officer. "It's still being investigated. It's not a done deal." In Washington, the White House declined to comment, saying it was a family matter. Calls to the restaurant and Bush's attorney were not immediately returned. A senior administration official told CNN that a "not happy" President Bush called his daughter from California Wednesday morning to discuss the incident Jenna Bush recently pleaded no contest to alcohol possession by a minor and was ordered to take an alcohol awareness class and complete eight hours of community service. That citation stemmed from an early morning incident on April 27, when plainclothes officers witnessed Bush, a freshman at the University at Texas at Austin, and an unnamed friend drinking alcohol in the nightclub Cheers Shot Bar, located on Austin's popular Sixth Street. The two girls were given a citation for possession of alcohol for someone under the legal drinking age of 21. Austin Community Court Judge Elisabeth Earle ordered Bush to pay $51.25 in court costs, attend a six-hour alcohol awareness class and complete eight hours of community service. Bush has until July 18 to complete the order. If she complies, the offense would be dropped from her permanent record. If she fails to comply, the prosecutor could issue a warrant for her arrest and the misdemeanor offense would go on her record, said Earle. --CNN, Wednesday, May 30, 2001
AUSTIN, Texas –– President Bush's 19-year-old daughter, Jenna, tried to purchase alcohol at a restaurant using someone else's identification card, police said Wednesday. Police were called to Chuy's Mexican restaurant in south Austin on Tuesday night as Jenna Bush was attempting to buy alcohol, police spokesman Kevin Buchman said. No other details were immediately available, but a statement was being prepared, he said. The legal drinking age in Texas is 21. Jenna Bush's attorney, William P. Allison, could not be reached, and White House officials had no immediate comment. Mark Dore, a manager at restaurant, said he could not comment and referred all questions to the corporate offices. Messages left there by The Associated Press were not immediately returned. Less than a month ago, Jenna Bush pleaded no contest to a charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol in connection with another incident. The no contest plea stemmed from a ticket police issued while checking for minors in possession of alcohol at nightclubs along the popular East Sixth Street entertainment district on April 27. She was ordered to pay $51.25 in court costs, serve eight hours of community service and attend six hours of alcohol awareness classes. Jenna Bush is a student at the University of Texas in Austin. Her twin sister, Barbara, attends Yale University." --AP, May 30,2001, 12:50 EDT
"Speaking of [Ari] Fleischer, the usually affable spokesman is not reluctant to get tough with reporters when he believes they've stepped out of line. Sheriff Fleischer was on duty Thursday and upset with Houston Chronicle reporter Bennett Roth. Bush that morning urged parents to talk more to their kids about the dangers of drugs. Roth, at Fleischer's daily briefing, asked: "Ari, the president talked about parental involvement today. How much has he talked to his own daughters about both drugs and drinking? And given the fact that his own daughter was cited for underage drinking, isn't that a sign that there's only so much effect that a parent can have on their children's behavior?" Fleischer responded brusquely: "No, I think, frankly, there are some issues where I think it's very important for you all in the press corps to recognize that he is the president of the United States; he's also a father. And the press corps has been very respectful in the past of treating family matters with privacy, and I'm certain that you're going to do so again. I hope so." Fleischer later called Roth to chastise him, telling him his question had been 'noted in the building.'" --Al Kamen, 5/14/01
to which, a Houston professional associate of Roth's ironically replies...
"In case you get all your political news from the Rush Limbaugh show and other right-wing radio, and you hadn't really heard about Jenna Bush's arrest, that's because her incident is very, very different from Al Gore's son getting a speeding ticket or being rumored to have been disciplined for drugs at school, or Chelsea Clinton being (wrongly) rumored to have been seen smoking at a public restaurant. Those subjects were worthy of lengthy on-air discussion because they demonstrated the inherent hypocrisy and disregard for The Rule of Law that all Democrats exhibit. Jenna Bush, on the other hand, falls under the category of Private Family Matters. --Richard Connelly, 5/24/01
"PREZ's DAUGHTER IN SPRING BREAK BOOZE BINGE"
"PARTY-HEARTY: Barbara passed out on a Mexican beach filled with spring breakers."
"Oh, those Bush girls!"
"President Bush's daughter Barbara flew to a Mexican resort for a spring break vacation -- that nearly turned into a tragedy."
"Beer. Hunky guys. The hot Mexican sun. Tequila shots -- lots of them. It was a recipe for disaster for the 19-year-old Yale University freshman."
"The ENQUIRER issue that hits stands on Friday [4/19/01] reveals all the details of Barbara's Mexican misadventure -- which came just weeks after her twin sister Jenna narrowly escaped arrest for underage drinking at a wild fraternity party!"
"President Bush's 19-year-old daughter, Jenna, was cited early Friday for alcohol possession by a minor, police said. The ticket was issued by Austin police who were checking for minors in possession of alcohol at nightclubs along the city's popular East Sixth Street. Officers questioned Bush and another woman they believed to be under age 21 at about 1:30 a.m. They were given a citation but were not arrested. Bush is a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin. White House officials would not discuss the incident. ``We respect the privacy of this young woman and we're not going to comment on her personal life,'' said Noelia Rodriguez, spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush. Bush and her twin sister, Barbara, graduated from high school last May in Austin. Barbara Bush attends Yale University." --AP, 4/27/01
"Police officers notified the Secret Service agents who were waiting outside the bar that they were ticketing the president's daughter....'They were not aware she was consuming alcohol, [Assistant Police Chief Mike McDonald] said. 'Their primary role is protection. Their role is not to enforce local law. That's our responsibility.' Since the incident, McDonald said he has been in touch with the Secret Service, but has not been contacted by any representatives of the White House or the president. White House officials declined to discuss the incident....Defendants in Class C misdemeanor cases can plead guilty of no contest and pay a fine of up to $500 or do community service without appearing in court....An unidentified man who answered the bar's telephone denied the incident took place." --Austin American-Statesman, 4/28
NEW HAVEN, January 20, 2001 — "Barbara Bush...hasn't let her celebrity status or Secret Service agents stop her from enjoying an active social life during her freshman year at Yale, according to her classmates. Although Bush, 19, has generally tried not to call attention to herself, she started tongues wagging on campus when, classmates say, she had a phony ID card confiscated at Toad's Place and was ordered to leave. 'She was angry when that happened,' said Aileen Farrell, a freshman friend of Bush's who was with her at Toad's that night several months ago. 'But she didn't make a big deal about it.' Toad's owner Brian Phelps said he didn't know anything about the incident....But Bush has caught flak from the Yale undergraduate humor magazine Rumpus, which identifies her as 'Frosh X.' The Rumpus writer sarcastically sympathized with 'Frosh X' for having her fake ID confiscated at Toad's Place and made some unflattering comments about her father. Randall Beach, New Haven Register staff, 1/20/01 (Posted 4/10/01)
Which of George W. Bush's gestures did you use to shape your character [that you will play in "That's My Bush," the Comedy Central TV Show created by the makers of "South Park"]? This isn't the same as developing a character from a script.
Just the way he holds his head up and carries himself very straight. I watched tapes of him with Barbara Walters and in some debates and on David Letterman. I try to get some general movement and how he smiles and how he looks when he is thinking. That combined with this outrageous dialogue that they give me, which isn't George at all but is their comedy. They decided to keep a Texas accent, even though George is a chameleon. He'll go to Texas and it'll be quite thick, then he'll go to Washington and it drops off. We're not going to do that. This isn't an impersonation; it's just a general impression. I have a general resemblance to him. And they dye my hair and use some prosthetics. But it's just a comedy likeness.
Comedy Central has declared the Bush daughters off limits for this show, especially after reports of a planned lesbian subplot. Is this the first constitutional crisis of your administration?
I think that was a good thing. He's got a couple of Texas girls, and they're probably pretty wild, but we've got a lot of other stuff. These writers have their hands full of material.
New York Times Interview., 3/25/01
"The ENQUIRER has now learned that Jenna [Bush] has also been seen smoking marijuana. A student at the University of Texas at Austin told The ENQUIRER: 'Jenna came over one night and we all did some doobies together. I wouldn't say she's a major pothead but she likes to toke up when it's around. She gets real giggly when she smokes and won't shut up.' Another student confirmed: 'I've seen her smoking marijuana at parties.Jenna's not a bad kid, but whe runs with a wild college crowd who drink, smoke marijuana and live to have a good time. Drug use is definitely not a part of Jenna's normal routine.'" --The National Enquirer, 3/20/01
When you're the daughter of a president, even simple things you do can become big news. Chelsea Clinton found that out when she was seen around Stanford University with a boyfriend. "These kids are our royalty," said Brad Meltzer, who spent a year researching children of presidents for his book First Counsel. "Whether they like it or not their privacy is invaded, and we love to hear any juicy details we can about them."...President Bush, who was already an adult when his father moved into the White House, told ABCNEWS' Barbara Walters he hopes his daughters, 19-yera-old twins Jenna and Barbara, will enjoy the same kind of privacy that Chelsea was given. But that's not a given. "It's a different ballgame out there," Meltzer said. "These girls are at partying age and they are going to college and they are going to be in the spotlight." They have quite an act to follow, since their own father is the son of a president." --ABCNews, 3/12/01
  Editorial Policy: All entries are dated and documented as needed. Text (c) Politex. Permission of author required for reprinting. Duration of working link not under our control. Updated daily at various times. Send all e-mail to Politex.
|
