*UPDATE, Dec. 3 is here*UPDATE, Nov. 30 is here
*UPDATE, Nov. 29: #1: Former Social Office Staffer Cathy Hargraves spills all to Newsweek; #2 is here
*UPDATED, Nov. 27: StateGate turns out to be a serious security breach; Secret Service cites protocol failure, issues apology; launches investigation; seeks Dinner Crashers for questioning. Federal charges possible....VIDEO AFTER JUMP
[Original post below, with more photos]
The White House acknowledged today that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the Virginia couple who managed to get past a security checkpoint and enter the State Dinner on Tuesday evening with no invitation. According to the White House statement, the Salahis shook hands with the President and First Lady in the Blue Room, as the Obamas greeted their arriving guests. The White House released the photo, above, showing the Salahis in the receiving line with President Obama; on the far side of the President is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the evening's guest of honor. The photo was taken by Samantha Appleton, one of the White House staff photographers who usually covers Mrs. Obama. Media has now dug up all kinds of info about the couple; they are being described as "accomplished party crashers." While the couple did go through magnetometers at the White House during the security checks, there is no screening for chemical or biological agents, which security experts are quick to point out; the State Gate Crash is a bad breach. (Small photo: The Salahis with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, whom the Salahis referred to as "Ron" when posting the photo on their Facebook page)The New York Times is reporting that Mark Sullivan, director of the Secret Service, has issued a statement saying that his agency was “deeply concerned and embarrassed” by the events. Secret Service officials said the agency wanted to interview everyone connected with the episode, including the Salahis, and had not ruled out criminal charges. NYT also notes that "For their part, White House officials took pains to publicly refrain from criticizing the Secret Service." (Photo: The Salahis with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, whom the Salahis referred to as "Ron" when posting the photo on their Facebook page)
“The men and women of the Secret Service put their lives on the line every day to protect us; they are heroes, and they have the full confidence of the president of United States,” said Nick Shapiro, a White House spokesman. "The United States Secret Service said they made a mistake, and they are taking action to identify exactly what happened, and they will take the appropriate measures pending the results of their investigation.”
NYT also quotes Ronald Kessler, author of "In the President's Secret Service;" Kessler notes that threats against Mr. Obama have increased 400 percent since the President took office, so the seriousness of the security breach is extraordinary.
CNN is reporting that the Secret Service found that their own agents did not follow protocol at a security checkpoint. From the agency statement: "The preliminary findings of our internal investigation have determined established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint, verifying that two individuals were on the guest list." The statement adds that although the Salahis went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, "they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely...That failing is ours."
The investigation continues and "appropriate measures have been taken to ensure this is not repeated," the Secret Service said.
*CNN also examined court records related to the Salahis, who are part of an extended family that owns Oasis winery in Virginia. CNN notes that the Salahis "have left an extensive paper trail in federal bankruptcy and state court filings. They are named in at least 16 different civil suits in Fauquier County, Virginia...sometimes as plaintiffs, sometimes as defendants. Family members have sued the county and each other. The family winery, Oasis Winery, has sued Michaele Salahi."
*Also: Producers from Bravo TV admitted filming the Salahis before they arrived at the White House, as well as during their day-long preparations for the evening, but claimed they did not know the couple were not on the official guest list. The lawyer for the Salahis claims that the couple were not "crashing" the state dinner, but would not elaborate. The Salahis are candidates for Bravo's TV show "The Real Housewives of DC."
The Original Post:
UPDATED below, Nov. 26: Felony charges possible?Aspiring reality TV stars manage to trump White House security protocols...
The State Dinner in honor of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seemed to have gone off without any obvious glitches, until the Washington Post's Roxanne Roberts and Amy Artsinger revealed today that the event was crashed by a couple who wasn't on the official, much-vetted and carefully selected guest list. Tareq and Michaele Salahi, described as "polo playing socialites known for a bitter family feud," managed to get through every security checkpoint at the White House--and straight into the dinner tent 0n the South Lawn. The Salahis were so convincing as a faux dinner duo, in fact, that they posed for photos with Vice President Joe Biden and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, among many other notables at the party. They were also photographed with PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, who was seated at the President's table during dinner. They weren't photographed near the President, First Lady, or the Prime Minister, however, and while they were in the tent for a while, they seem to have left before the guests were seated for the dinner service. (Above: with Vice President Joe Biden, in the State dinner tent)
Wa Po discovered t
he couple because they'd posted photos of themselves at the State Dinner on their Facebook page...which is still live on the internet. An amusing side note to it all is the Six Degrees of Obama Foodorama element: Even President Obama's party crashers have something foodie in their background--the Salahi family has a long-time legal feud going on over a family owned winery, Oasis in Northern Virginia. A wine that was not poured at the State Dinner, by the way. (Not photoshopped: The signature green tablecloths of the State Dinner color scheme are behind the Salahis in this photo)The White House declined to comment for the Wa Po, other than confirming that the couple was not invited. There is an investigation, with Secret Service doing its own internal review. Although the Salahis weren't on the guest list, they still had to pass through the magnetometers at the White House, part of the screening process for weapons. Theoretically, neither was armed--unless you consider the tent-size cojones both were packing.
Perhaps it was the glittery, perfect red sari Michaele wore--which replicated evening wear worn by many other women who actually were invited to the event--that convinced Secret Service she was legit. The sari indicates a big level of craftiness; the crashing indicates a big plate of crazy. This is reinforced by the fact that Michaele Salahi, formerly a Redskins cheerleader, is being considered for reality show The Real Housewives of DC. Bravo TV already has cameras following her around. (Above: Michaele Salahi with some of the formally dressed color guard, outside the entrance to the East Wing)Is it a federal crime to crash a State Dinner? Possibly only for the White House/Secret Service staff members who will be getting dismissed when the investigation is completed. A different kind of crash fest may well occur. As it turns out, there was far more Hollywood at the State Dinner than previously suspected.
*UPDATE: Former Bush homeland security adviser Fran Townsend, appearing on CNN's Campbell Brown show on Wednesday evening, said that the couple could be guilty of a felony if they told the Secret Service or White House staff that they were invited knowing full well they weren’t.
“This is not sort of a minor infraction, if you're these two people who got in improperly. It's a potential felony, " Townsend said. "They would have had to make a false statement to the Secret Service agent and the social secretary's person, both federal officials, that there was a mistake, that they were supposed to be on the list. That's a lie and that's a federal felony, for which they can serve jail time. It's not just a misdemeanor for trespassing. It's a potential felony.”
*Photos from the Salahi's Facebook page
