A crack-smoking daughter and a Mexican-American wife detained at customs for lying about $19k in clothes and jewelery: Why Jeb Bush might not run for president

House Speaker John Boehner is eager for a centrist GOP candidate; a Capitol Hill aide close to him told MailOnline he 'will go to the mat for Jeb'

But Bush's daughter was arrested in 2002 after she tried to fill a fake prescription for the often-abused tranquilizer drug Xanax

Sentenced to rehab, she was caught stealing pills and possessing crack cocaine while in treatment, and served 10 days in jail

The former Florida guv's wife, a Mexican immigrant, was once detained by U.S. Customs for smuggling in clothing and jewelry she bought in Paris



A Bush confidante told the Washington Post that his top considerations for a 2016 decision 'are Columba, 1, 2 and 3. It's whether she's up for it'



Former Florida G ov. Jeb Bush's number has come up on the Republican Party's presidential rou lette wheel, making a possible third President Bush the talk of Washington, D.C. and fodder for breathless news reports.

A House aide close to Speaker John Boehner told MailOnline on Tuesday that he will 'go to the mat for Jeb.'



'He doesn't want someone in office who's going to keep splitting the party between the center and the right,' the staffer said.



But Bush's family could drag along enough heavy baggage to sink a White House run, including his daughter Noelle's 2002 arrests for prescription drug fraud, stealing pills at a rehab clinic, and possession of crack cocaine.

His wife Columba also was detained at U.S. Customs in 1999, at the Atlanta airport, for under-reporting $19,000 worth of clothing and jewelry she bought in Paris – signing a declaration for just $500.

Family ties: Jeb Bush's reclusive wife Columba's 1999 brush with the law at U.S. Customs could become an embarrassing issue if the former Florida governor runs for president

Drug abuse: Bush's daughter Noelle, then 25, spent 2002 in and out of drug courts and spent a total of 12 days in jail for prescription fraud and violating the terms of her court-ordered drug rehab by stealing pills and possessing crack cocaine

She paid $4,100 in fines and tariffs. Officials in Florida claimed she under-reported her shopping spree because she didn't want her husband to know how much she had spent.



Columba Bush's smuggling woes never resulted in criminal charges, but Noelle wasn't so lucky.

She was first arrested at a drive-through pharmacy window in January 2002 while her father was governor, charged with trying to buy the often-abused anti-anxiety drug Xanax with a prescription written for someone else.

A judge presiding over a specialized 'drug court' sentenced Noelle, then 25, to complete a long-term inpatient drug treatment program, and said her criminal charge could be dropped if she succeeded.

But in July of that year while in the program at the Center for Drug Free Living in Orlando, Florida, she was caught with pills that had been stolen from a cabinet. She spent two days in jail and was allowed to return to the treatment center.

Trouble followed her, however, as she struggled with her addiction. Two months later, workers at the facility found her with a 0.2 gram rock of crack cocaine concealed in her shoe.

A fellow patient had blown the whistle on her and called police.



Employees refused to give statements to investigators, however, and a judge ruled they couldn't be forced to testify to what they saw.



In an October 2002 court hearing designed to check her progress, another judge sent Noelle to jail for 10 days, basing his decision in part on news of the crack incident.

Jeb Bush learned of the jail sentence while campaigning for re-election. From the day the cocaine was found, through his daughter's sentencing, he played the part of compassionate father while carefully maintaining the tough-on-crime image that made him popular politically.

When news of the crack bust reached news media, he said his daughter needed to 'resolve in her heart and mind that she needs to change. She needs to accept responsibility,' he insisted.

'She knows that we love her,' the then-governor and re-election candidate continued. 'She knows a whole lot of people care for her, but it is up to her. There are no excuses.'



Weeks later when Noelle was led away in handcuffs to begin her short stint behind bars, he addressed the growing media frenzy again.

'As governor, but most importantly as her father,' he said, 'I know she must face the consequences of her actions.'

Noelle has landed on her feet, with The Washington Post reporting that she is employed by an Orlando human resources software company.



Eyes on the prize: Jeb Bush is widely seen as a possible presidential contender in 2016, but first must shake his family's ancient baggage and his own more recent policy gaffes

'An act of love': Bush, married to a Mexican-American immigrant, raised GOP hackles in April when he was supportive of illegal immigrants who have crossed the U.S. border in order to provide their children a better life Bling: U.S. Customs officers detained Columba Bush in 1999 for falsely declaring that she had only bought merchandise in Paris worth $500 -- she had actually spent $19,000 on jewelry and clothes, and tried to smuggle them into the country

As Jeb Bush sends vague signals about a possible presidential run, Washington insiders are lining up to either support or marginalize the maybe-candidate.

And despite the family history, House Speaker John Boehner has come out swinging for Jeb.

Boehner is reportedly eager to back a centrist candidate to counter the influence of more conservative contenders like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul,

Cheerleader: House Speaker John Boehner has said Jeb Bush would make a good president, and an aide says the Ohioan will 'go to the mat' for the former governor

Boehner said Monday during a Texas Chamber of Commerce event that 'Jeb Bush is my friend. I think he'd make a great president. And I've been nudging him for some time.'



The two seem particularly well-matched on immigration. Capitol Hill's top Republican has telegraphed his willingness to embrace a version of immigration reform that would open a pathway to legal status for more than 11.5 illegal immigrants.

Bush, too, backs an overhaul of America's immigration laws, although neither has said they would go as far as President Barack Obama's plan – one that passed the Democrat-controlled Senate in 2013 – which would provide immigration lawbreakers with a way to become U.S. citizens.



Columba Bush, who married the future politician in 1974, is a Mexican-American. The two speak Spanish to each other at home, and Jeb converted to Catholicism for her.

Florida, where Bush served as governor from 1999 to 2007, is flush with Hispanic voters.

Those factors have colored his immigration vision of an equitable policy, leading to an April foot-in-mouth moment when he said at his father's presidential library that illegal immigrants who cross the border with their children 'broke the law, but it’s not a felony. It’s an act of love.'

He moderated his tone a week later, perhaps sensing the seismic splash his comment made nationwide, telling a Connecticut Republican party dinner crowd that ' there is no conflict between enforcing our laws, believing in the rule of law and having some sensitivity to the immigrant experience, which is part of who we are as a country.'