Reality bites as upstarts gate-crash White House
Source: Agencies |
November 27, 2009, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MICHAELE and Tareq Salahi didn't look out of place at Tuesday's White House state dinner in Washington.
They were all smiles as they rubbed shoulders with US Vice President Joe Biden, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and CBS News anchor Katie Couric.
No one suspected the Salahis were a couple of brazen party crashers and wannabe reality TV stars.
The Secret Service was looking into its security procedures after determining that the Virginia couple managed to slip into Tuesday night's event even though they were not on the guest list, agency spokesman Ed Donovan said.
President Barack Obama was never in any danger because the Salahis went through the same security screening for weapons as the 300-plus people invited to the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Donovan said.
The Washington Post, which first reported on their evening out, said the Salahis were well-known in the Virginia horse-country set and were being considered for the Bravo reality TV show "Real Housewives of DC."
In an interview with CBS' "Early Show" in September, Michaele Salahi said: "President Obama has made it very accessible for anyone to visit the White House, so that's like a big thing right now." The CBS interview was part of a segment on potential candidates for "Real Housewives of DC" but never was aired.
The Secret Service learned about the security breach on Wednesday after a media inquiry prompted by the Salahis' online boasts about having attended the private event.
One of the many photos from the dinner posted on Michaele Salahi's Facebook page shows the couple with a smiling Biden. In other photos, they appear alone or together with Emanuel, Fenty, Couric, Representative Ed Royce and three Marines.
Donovan would not comment on whether the couple had been contacted by the Secret Service, how long they were on the White House grounds or details of the inquiry.
The Post said uninvited guests who got in could face a potential trespassing charge unless someone from inside the White House staff slipped them in.
"They'll go through all of this and see what went wrong and fix it," Frances Townsend, who was the White House-based counterterrorism adviser for President George W. Bush, told CNN yesterday.
The agency is reviewing what occurred. An initial finding indicated a checkpoint did not follow procedures to ensure the two were on the guest list, Donovan said.
They were all smiles as they rubbed shoulders with US Vice President Joe Biden, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and CBS News anchor Katie Couric.
No one suspected the Salahis were a couple of brazen party crashers and wannabe reality TV stars.
The Secret Service was looking into its security procedures after determining that the Virginia couple managed to slip into Tuesday night's event even though they were not on the guest list, agency spokesman Ed Donovan said.
President Barack Obama was never in any danger because the Salahis went through the same security screening for weapons as the 300-plus people invited to the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Donovan said.
The Washington Post, which first reported on their evening out, said the Salahis were well-known in the Virginia horse-country set and were being considered for the Bravo reality TV show "Real Housewives of DC."
In an interview with CBS' "Early Show" in September, Michaele Salahi said: "President Obama has made it very accessible for anyone to visit the White House, so that's like a big thing right now." The CBS interview was part of a segment on potential candidates for "Real Housewives of DC" but never was aired.
The Secret Service learned about the security breach on Wednesday after a media inquiry prompted by the Salahis' online boasts about having attended the private event.
One of the many photos from the dinner posted on Michaele Salahi's Facebook page shows the couple with a smiling Biden. In other photos, they appear alone or together with Emanuel, Fenty, Couric, Representative Ed Royce and three Marines.
Donovan would not comment on whether the couple had been contacted by the Secret Service, how long they were on the White House grounds or details of the inquiry.
The Post said uninvited guests who got in could face a potential trespassing charge unless someone from inside the White House staff slipped them in.
"They'll go through all of this and see what went wrong and fix it," Frances Townsend, who was the White House-based counterterrorism adviser for President George W. Bush, told CNN yesterday.
The agency is reviewing what occurred. An initial finding indicated a checkpoint did not follow procedures to ensure the two were on the guest list, Donovan said.
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