Bush Daughter Has Purse Stolen

(CBS/AP)  Barbara Bush, one of President Bush's 24-year-old twin daughters, had her purse stolen last weekend while she was being guarded by the Secret Service during a visit to Argentina, CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller has learned.

Barbara Bush's purse and cell phone were taken while she was dining in a Buenos Aires restaurant.

La Nacion newspaper, citing anonymous government sources, said in its online edition early Wednesday that one of Mr. Bush's daughters had her purse taken Sunday afternoon in the popular tourist district of San Telmo.

A pair of thieves removed the purse from under a table while Secret Service agents stood guard at a distance, La Nacion reported.

Should the Secret Service have chased the guy? Absolutely not, former agent Chuck Vance told CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews. Vance said the theft may have been a diversion and the greater danger was a possible kidnapping.

"Their response is to the protectee, to be with the protectee, not to give chase," Vance said.

Argentine police told The Associated Press they had no complaint of any such incident on file, and the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires said it would have no comment. In Washington, the White House, Secret Service and State Department also declined comment.

CNN cited a law-enforcement source who was briefed on the incident as saying that "at no point were the protectees out of visual contact and at no point was there any risk of harm."

Argentina's largest-circulation daily, Clarin, ran an online report citing the government news agency Telam as saying that Barbara Bush had her purse taken along with a cell phone that was inside it. Telam cited an official source who did not wish to be identified by name and who provided no other details.

Barbara and her twin sister, Jenna, will turn 25 on Saturday.

Jenna visited neighboring Paraguay last month to take part in a UNICEF program for young professionals.

This wasn't the only troubling incident on the twins' trip to Argentina: a Secret Service agent on the advance detail got into an altercation with someone after a night out and was badly beaten, according ABC News. The incident, described as an attempted mugging, happened while the agent was spending time on his own, the Secret Service told ABC.

[itchybrain]

by thew way... bushrocks1... get a life.

[itchybrain]

This is not news. If she joined the military... that's news.

for all those interested I have emailed the technical team at CBSnews.com to please make it google friendly so that we may be able to autofill user name and password with one click so we do not have to fill in the blanks any more, please forgive me if you see this post in more than one forum

[catt42701]

Who gives a flip? Isn't there anything better to report.

[bushrocks1]

Would I send my son to this war? You might ask would I send him to WW II? Or Vietnam? Maybe you would distinguish those conflicts and whether you would send your son to fight in them. But that question is misdirected in a very important way: I can't command my son to go to war. He has to make that choice. So the better question would be: would I volunteer to fight in Iraq, WW II, Vietnam? Would I volunteer to fight in any war? Respond if drafted? I don%u2019t know. I'm not equivocating, only addressing that it is a hypothetical. To a hypothetical, I can answer, sure I'd fight. But I have nightmares of battle (from my past life as a Jacobite). So how do I feel toward those who do volunteer? Impressed and maturely knowing that many things go into their decision. But I do strongly believe that a country that can't find those men is doomed. The fact that we can find them is one reason why I say there is no failure in Iraq. Objectively, I also believe it for other reasons. An attempt to establish democracy in the Middle East is a bold, brilliant, noble effort, facing a high chance of failure. That's why I greatly respect and admire those who have made the attempt--the Bush administration. They have been resolute, something I have not seen in my lifetime. They may not succeed, for reasons outside their control or fault: traitors on the home front, being a big one. But now those traitors have apparently occupied the high ground. Yet... we're still in Iraq. Why?... I'm waiting.

[frankly6]

Who cares?

[jw218389]

That purse is probably 6 mos wages in Argentina.

She should give everyone there a purse - that be more charity than any other Bush COMBINED has ever performed.

Dubya needs to look somewhere else for his post impeachment/war profiteering exile. I heard that Napolean really enjoyed Corsica (his 1st island exile).

[grumpas]

What's-her-name looks as dumb as her father!!!! It must be difficult to bear the burden of having been sired by a dumb bunny like him! I am surprised she is even seen in public! I wouldn't! I would hang my head in shame!

[aeasus]

to nadeau4201,

Between G.W.Bush and G.H.W.Bush they now own almost 3% of Paraguay. Daughter Jenna closed the deal.

[ampsanne]

Seems to me some of you people have gotten off the subject here. If it were not for our forefathers fighting wars maybe we would not be here. Now as for the subject of the purse being stolen. I think the media thinks we have to know about everything going on. I say what do I care? Enough said!