[wreakhavoc]

A couple of aspiring reality-TV stars from Northern Virginia appear to have crashed the White House’s state dinner Tuesday night, penetrating layers of security with no invitation to mingle with the likes of Vice President Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi — polo-playing socialites known for a bitter family feud over a Fauquier County winery and their possible roles in the forthcoming “The Real Housewives of Washington” — were seen arriving at the White House and later posted on Facebook photos of themselves with VIPs at the elite gathering.

“Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!” one of them wrote on their joint Facebook page at 9:08 p.m.


But a White House official said the couple were not invited to the dinner, not included on the official guest list and never seated at a table in the South Lawn tent.

A woman describing herself as a publicist for the Salahis denied that they were interlopers. Pressed for details, Mahogany Jones sent a statement saying simply: “The Salahis were honored to be a part of such a prestigious event.... They both had a wonderful time.”

While the White House offered no official explanation, it appears to be the first time in modern history that anyone has crashed a White House state dinner. The uninvited guests were in the same room as President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, although it is unknown whether they met the Obamas and the guest of honor.

“Everyone who enters the White House grounds goes through magnetometers and several other levels of screenings,” said Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service. “That was the case with the state dinner last night. No one was under any risk or threat.”

Donovan said a preliminary internal investigation Wednesday identified “a Secret Service checkpoint which did not follow proper procedure to ensure these two individuals were on the invited guest list.” He declined to give further details. An administration official said the White House will conduct its own review.

The Salahis, both in their 40s, showed up about halfway through the guest arrivals. A Marine announced their names, and the couple — he in a tux, she in a striking red and gold lehenga (traditional Indian formalwear) — swept pass reporters and photographers, stopping several times to pose for pictures. They then walked into the White House lower hallway, where they mingled with guests on the red carpet before heading up to the cocktail reception in the East Room.

Later, they posted pictures that seem to chart their course through the night: Michaele posing with Marines outside near the White House doors, and with Katie Couric and Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) inside the mansion. In the East Room, the Salahis both cozied up to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and his wife, Michelle.

But the best was yet to come: Once inside the dinner tent, they got pictures that appeared to show them with ABC’s Robin Roberts, Bollywood composer AR Rahman, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Obama Chief of Staff Emanuel (identified as “Ron” in the couple’s Facebook photo caption) and two with a grinning vice president. The photos end there — no shots of the Salahis sitting at a table, their seatmates or the post-dinner entertainment.

How could it happen? A former White House senior staffer — who more than a decade ago encountered a crasher at one of the executive mansion’s less-fancy parties — offered this theory:

A savvy pair of crashers, dressed to the nines, might arrive on foot at the visitors’ entrance, announce their names — then express shock and concern when the security detail at the gate failed to find them on the guest list. On a rainy night like Tuesday, with a crowd of 300-plus arriving, security might have lost track of or granted a modicum of sympathy to a pair who certainly looked as though they belonged there. If their IDs didn’t send up any red flags in the screening process, they would be sent through the magnetometers and into the White House.

And yet, the former staffer noted: Someone from the White House social office should have been posted at the guest entrance with the guards.

Once visitors were in, no one necessarily would ask them for further identification. They could check their coats, give their names to the Marine on duty, walk past reporters and into the lower hallway where guests picked up their table assignments. They would pass the junior staffers handing out seating cards and walk on up the stairs for cocktails in the East Room.

Later, all guests were directed to head for the dinner tent on the South Lawn. Facebook photos suggest that the Salahis walked into the tent; it’s unclear when they left. Reporters were cleared from the entryway by the time dinner seating got under way. There is no security checkpoint to leave the grounds.

The Salahis, longtime fixtures in local horse-country society, have recently seemed destined for national fame via reality TV. Michaele, a striking model-thin blonde who used to be a Redskins cheerleader, has been widely reported to be in contention as one of the “Real Housewives” in the forthcoming D.C. edition of the hit Bravo cable series. Although Bravo has not officially finalized its cast, its cameras have followed the couple at numerous parties — including the “America’s Polo Cup” held on the Mall in September, part of a series of tournaments the Salahis founded a few years ago.

Abby Greensfelder, head of the local production team Half Yard Productions, referred questions about the Salahis to Bravo. A Bravo representative declined to comment.

Even before their brush with reality TV fame, the couple had gained some notoriety for a long-running feud with Tareq’s parents, Dirgham and Corinne Salahi, over control of the family’s Oasis Winery in Hume, Va. Last year, Tareq accused his mother’s attorney of punching him; the lawyer was found not guilty. Court records show that Oasis filed for bankruptcy in February, with Tareq listed as “debtor designee.” A note on the winery’s Web site Wednesday promised a reopening for business in 2010.

The America’s Polo Cup has also endured controversy, last year drawing a lawsuit from a Middleburg caterer over alleged non-payment. That suit remains unresolved.

Hours before the White House denied that the Salahis were legitimate guests, The Post asked the couple via Facebook how they happened to attend the dinner. Tareq responded: “India is the challenger in the America’s Polo Cup World Championships June 11/12 2010, and they are very excited in this first ever cultural connection being hosted on the DC National Mall since Polo is one of the primary sports in India.”

When pressed about why they did not appear on the official list, he added, “it was last-minute attending.”

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34157390/ns/po...ashington_post/

[doa12]

Like a magnetometer is going to detect H1N1 or such. Not every threat is detectable by current scanning. Course maybe they just verified there wasn't a red ball and figured everything would be ok.

[SillySimon]

Ronald Kessler, author of a book on the Secret Service, said, "While the couple did pass through a magnetometer to detect weapons, they could have assassinated the president or vice president using other means - anthrax, for example." He added the Secret Service would not detect secreted biological weapons.

Kessler, a journalist, wrote "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect."

The author added that it's unlikely the Secret Service performed the usual background check to ensure that the crashers were not possible threats.

"The party crashers could have had outstanding arrest warrants for murder. They could have been involved with terrorists. They could have been agents of Iran or North Korea. The Secret Service would never have known," he said.

They could have had AIDS. They could have been Masters of Disguise. They could have been V's. They could have been posing as 'real Americans', yet have no verifiable birth certificate. They could have been 'going commando' (as in - no underwear!). They could have been Republicans. They could have been related to nun. They could have been related to the unabomber (no relation to nun!). They could have been as bored as I am, at the moment.

Who cares what they 'could have been'??? They didn't do anything to anybody. Where's the crime? If anyone is going to get in trouble over this, it should be the people in charge of keeping 'crashers' out... they're the ones who fucked up.

[wreakhavoc]

Who cares what they 'could have been'??? They didn't do anything to anybody. Where's the crime? If anyone is going to get in trouble over this, it should be the people in charge of keeping 'crashers' out... they're the ones who fucked up.

Exactly- whoever let them in is about as far from competent as one can get. The only crime they apparently committed was lying to federal agents (secret service?) I just heard this morning that they also had a camera crew with them.

[The Gunslinger]

I agree that whoever let them in needs to be held accountable, however, if they lied or anything to get in it IS a crime and I think the courts should prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law to make an example out of them.

This post has been edited by The Gunslinger: Nov 27 2009, 03:06 PM

[CrucialSean]

Like a magnetometer is going to detect H1N1 or such. Not every threat is detectable by current scanning. Course maybe they just verified there wasn't a red ball and figured everything would be ok.

unless you're an infant, elderly, or have a compromised immune symptom H1N1 poses no threat other than a bad cold to anyone. get over this shit holy crap. It's all people are talking about at the hospital and my lady screams about the media panic everyday.


So what charges are they creating for this crashing? Trespassing? Terrorism? Al Qaeda connections?

[doa12]

Like a magnetometer is going to detect H1N1 or such. Not every threat is detectable by current scanning. Course maybe they just verified there wasn't a red ball and figured everything would be ok.

unless you're an infant, elderly, or have a compromised immune symptom H1N1 poses no threat other than a bad cold to anyone. get over this shit holy crap. It's all people are talking about at the hospital and my lady screams about the media panic everyday.


So what charges are they creating for this crashing? Trespassing? Terrorism? Al Qaeda connections?

That was just an example, there's many other worse biological things that wouldn't have been detected.

But, if you haven't noticed, most of the upper level people are pretty ancient.

[CrucialSean]

Like a magnetometer is going to detect H1N1 or such. Not every threat is detectable by current scanning. Course maybe they just verified there wasn't a red ball and figured everything would be ok.

unless you're an infant, elderly, or have a compromised immune symptom H1N1 poses no threat other than a bad cold to anyone. get over this shit holy crap. It's all people are talking about at the hospital and my lady screams about the media panic everyday.


So what charges are they creating for this crashing? Trespassing? Terrorism? Al Qaeda connections?

That was just an example, there's many other worse biological things that wouldn't have been detected.

But, if you haven't noticed, most of the upper level people are pretty ancient.

Good point.

[Matt]

Why is her head always tilted to the right?

(IMG:http://thefabempire.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/1476134_height370_width560.jpg)

(IMG:http://photos.state.gov/galleries/india/13974/polo040709/polo07040913.jpg)

(IMG:http://thefabempire.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/8319_1269590622831_1321808887_30772714_2925931_n.jpg)

[The Gunslinger]

Shes got those crazy half vacant Laura Bush eyes. Now I'm gonna have nightmares.

[Skarekrow]

Why is her head always tilted to the right?

(IMG:http://thefabempire.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/1476134_height370_width560.jpg)

because she's a fucking live doll... that somehow came to life.

[wreakhavoc]

Why is her head always tilted to the right?

because she's a fucking live doll... that somehow came to life.

Anorexics don't have the strength to keep their heads straight.

[Matt]

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Bob_The_Borg/idhitit5B15D.jpg)

[PENIS]

these women pay people to find their best possible angle/pose and then hold it every time a picture is taken.

[wreakhavoc]

Idiots. It turned out that if they had not bragged about it on their facebook page then it probably never would have been known.

[Ad Astra]

Idiots. It turned out that if they had not bragged about it on their facebook page then it probably never would have been known.

Of course they bragged about it. They wanted to cash in on celebrity in the hopes it would turn them into reality TV stars and faux-socialites like Perez Hilton.

They want the attention. Which is why I'd like nothing better than for the media to STOP covering that aspect of the story. Cover the embarrassment of the Secret Service and White House social director's actions, sure. Cover the security breach. But don't give any more attention to these two dipshits. Don't even mention their names.

[rick]

Umm... but they WANTED it to be known!! It's all about 21st century fame.

[nun]

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice...

The couple known for allegedly crashing a White House state dinner last week may have also crashed another dinner where President Barack Obama was in attendance.

Michaele and Tareq Salahi — the Virginia couple the White House claims attended Obama's first state dinner without an invitation — attended the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Dinner in September and posed for pictures with Reps. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) as well as Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) and other lawmakers, Lance Jones, a communications associate with the CBC Foundation confirmed to POLITICO.

Michaele Salahi's Facebook page also shows pictures of Obama speaking at the event. The story was first reported by WTTG FOX 5.

"I was pulled aside by a gentleman who said there was a couple seated at his table that didn't belong and wasn't a part of his party," Jones told POLITICO.

When Jones asked the couple for tickets and the couple couldn't produce them, he had security escort the couple out.

"They didn't offer any resistance," Jones said. "They knew they had been caught and their jig was up so they made their way out."

Jones said he believes the couple snuck into the event through the kitchen, first attending a VIP reception and then staying for dinner. The couple had asked for tickets and credentials for a Bravo television crew, but Jones said they were denied access.

Still, they showed up anyway.

"It seems like they're trying to build a habit out of this," Jones said, referring to the couple's pattern of showing up to events uninvited. "They've had some practice."

Jones said he didn't know exactly how the couple was able to make their way into the dinner or whether they were screened by the Secret Service.

"I don't know whether or not they were checking for tickets," he said.

http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0911...his_before.html

Can't say "they won't get fooled again."

[nun]

Who's this guy that was at that same party?

(IMG:http://biggovernment.com/files/2010/01/Gibbs.jpg)
(IMG:http://biggovernment.com/files/2010/01/Pelosi.jpg)

Who knows ... he wasn't on the guest list either!

Another uninvited guest made it into the White House state dinner made famous by gate-crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the Secret Service announced Monday -- exposing more holes in the security perimeter around President Obama.

Unlike the Salahis, this newly revealed crasher got into the White House with the official Indian delegation. Many of the key details have not been officially released: the man's name, how he came to be with the group of diplomats and how close he got to the president and first lady.

But a congressional source, who was granted anonymity to speak about the ongoing investigation into porous security at the White House, identified the man as Carlos Allen, a D.C. party promoter who runs an event space in Mount Pleasant. The source saw Allen's name in official e-mails and documents pertaining to the Secret Service probe. Allen, 39, did not respond Monday to repeated e-mails and phone messages. The Post spoke with him last month regarding a comment he made to a blogger about having attended the state dinner; in the brief exchange, he denied knowledge of anything to do with the dinner.

The Secret Service released its statement following a report by Ronald Kessler, a journalist who writes for Newsmax.com. Kessler reported that the agency discovered the third crasher after examining surveillance video of arriving guests and found one tuxedoed man who did not match any name on the guest list.

The White House declined to comment about the breach, although an administration official, who asked to speak without attribution, said the White House has known about the third crasher since mid-December.

"This individual went through all required security measures along with the rest of the official delegation at the hotel," according to a statement released by the Secret Service. "At present, there is nothing to indicate that this individual went through the receiving line or had contact with the President or first lady."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...0010403454.html

This post has been edited by nun: Jan 11 2010, 06:51 PM

[Dean]

He's black (in case you didn't notice) - he gets a pass.