GOV. BUSH'S DAUGHTER IS RELEASED FROM JAIL

ORLANDO - Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter was released from jail early Saturday,
10 days after a judge ordered her locked up for violating terms of her
court-ordered drug treatment program.

Noelle Bush left the Orange County jail around 4 a.m., said Allen Moore,
spokesman for the county corrections department. She was picked up in an
SUV in a closed garage to the side of the jail, away from media cameras,
instead of departing through the facility's entrance as most inmates do.

She returned to the Center for Drug-Free Living in Orlando, said her
brother, George P. Bush, a law student in Texas.

"We're handling it. It's tough," said George P. Bush, who was in Orlando
campaigning for his father's re-election. "It hurts, but all we can do is
love her, support her and be there for her."

George P. Bush, 26, said he hadn't spoken to or visited his sister
Saturday. Later in the day, he was to visit college students in Tampa,
Gainesville and Miami for the Bush re-election campaign.

The president's 25-year-old niece had been ordered to attend drug treatment
after she was arrested in January for allegedly trying to use a fraudulent
prescription to buy the anti-anxiety drug Xanax at a pharmacy drive-through
window. Under the diversion program, the charges could be dropped if she
completes treatment.

Judge Reginald Whitehead has since sent her to jail twice for violating
terms of that agreement.

In July, she was jailed for three days after a treatment worker caught her
with prescription pills. The 10-day stint that ended Saturday followed
allegations that she was found with crack cocaine in her shoe at the center.

The state attorney's office had sought to interview workers at the
treatment center about the allegations but a judge ruled that doing so
would violate federal privacy laws.

The governor and his wife briefly visited their daughter in jail Tuesday.
Jail officials also allowed a visit by C. David Brown II, a Bush family
friend and GOP campaign contributor.

Noelle Bush's next appearance before Whitehead is Nov. 8, three days after
voters decide whether to re-elect her father, when she will give the judge
an update on her progress. Her attorneys had fought unsuccessfully to keep
her appearances before the judge closed to the public.

George P. Bush said his family has discussed the possibility that Noelle
Bush could be returned to the regular criminal justice system and end up in
jail for a longer time if she doesn't succeed in the drug treatment program.

"Certainly there is concern. Sitting together with family members and our
family attorney, we have discussed these possible ramifications for the
future," he said.