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Texas police cited both of President Bush's 19-year-old twin daughters on misdemeanor alcohol charges today for a night out at an Austin restaurant earlier this week.
Jenna and Barbara Bush both face misdemeanor charges. Jenna, who less than a month ago pleaded "no contest" to possession of alcohol charges, was cited for showing another person's identification to buy drinks. Barbara, along with a 20-year-old friend who was with them, was cited for possession of alcohol.
The charges stem from an incident Tuesday night, when Austin police were called to a Tex-Mexican restaurant in south Austin. The manager had called to report that minors were trying to buy alcohol.
The president was trying to keep the embarrassing family incident private today. Bush has told his daughters that he loves them, and reminded them he and first lady Laura Bush would work hard to keep the teenage girls out of the public eye.
But with the very public incident this week, the family is quoted as saying advice from parent to child is going to remain private.
Under repeated questioning today, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer refused to elaborate on the president's conversations with his daughters.
"I think the American people agree with the president that it is his purview, even as president of the United States to have private moments with his family," Fleischer said. "That includes his two 19-year-old daughters. And like any parent raising a child, they expect the right to talk privately with their children no matter what position they hold in life."
A senior administration official confirmed Wednesday that the president, traveling in California, had called Jenna to talk about the incident. The official would not characterize the call but published reports described him as "not happy."
In late April, Jenna pleaded no contest to a charge of possessing alcohol under age at an Austin nightclub.
She was ordered to pay .25 in court costs, serve eight hours of community service and attend six hours of alcohol awareness classes.
If Jenna is convicted, both this incident and the earlier incident would remain on her permanent record. If convicted of alcohol offenses two more times under Texas law, Jenna faces fines up to ,000 and possible jail time.
Barbara attends Yale University. Jenna studies at the University of Texas in Austin.
(Agencies)
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美国德克萨斯州警方指控布什总统19岁的双胞胎女儿轻度酗酒。两人曾在本周早些时候深夜外出，呆在奥斯丁的一家酒馆里面酗酒。
杰娜和芭芭拉-布什姐俩都面临轻罪指控。杰娜在不到一个月前曾对饮酒的指控供认不讳，如今她又被控用别人的身份证件买酒喝。芭芭拉也被指控非法饮酒，当时还有一位20岁的朋友和她们在一起。
这次指控的起因还得从周二晚上说起，当时奥斯丁警方接到举报电话后赶到一家位于奥斯丁南部的德克萨斯-墨西哥酒馆。酒馆的经理给他们挂了电话，通知他们有未成年人买酒。
在德克萨斯，法律规定不满21岁者不能饮酒。
布什总统竭力使家丑不要张扬开来。布什曾告诉自己的女儿，自己很爱她们，说他和第一夫人劳拉会尽力避免让未成年的姐俩在公众面前抛头露面。
鉴于发生在本周的这件事已经在公众中炒得沸沸扬扬，作为家长，布什夫妇不会公开他们给孩子的劝告。
尽管不断被问及此事，白宫发言人阿里-弗雷舍拒绝对总统和女儿的谈话作出详细说明。
弗雷舍说："我想美国人民和总统的看法是一致的，即使身为美国总统，他应有和家人--当然，包括两位19岁的女儿，独自相处的时间。为人父母，无论他们在现实生活中处于什么样的位置和职务，都希望能和自己的孩子单独谈谈心。"
一位高级行政官员证实周三正在加州的布什总统就所发生的事给杰娜打过电话。这位官员没透露电话的内容，不过相关报道说总统"不是很痛快"。
四月下旬，杰娜对警方对她在奥斯丁一家夜总会饮酒的指控没提出任何异议。
她被罚支付了51.25 美元的诉讼费，还罚做了8小时的社区服务工作，并且上了6小时的饮酒规定教育课。
如果这次杰娜被法庭判罚，两次事件都会成为其永久性记录。根据德州法律，违反饮酒规定超过两次的话，杰娜有可能被处以最高达2，000美元的罚款，并有可能被关进大牢。
芭芭拉就读于耶鲁大学，杰娜就读于奥斯丁的德克萨斯大学。
(中国日报网站译)
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Updated: 2001-06-06 01:00
