Crashing the White House – Couple Breached Security at State Dinner

Security at the White House seems to be a bit lax these days.

Via Sweetness and Light, “a bemused Washington Post” reported:

The salon was abuzz because Michaele and her husband, Tareq, were among the 320 VIPs invited to join the president and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “They were asking, ‘So, what do you think of them getting invited to this?’ “The stylist doing Michaele’s hair asked to see the White House invitation, Packard-Gomez said. “She starts rummaging through her purse, and then said, ‘It must be out in the car.’ ”

Would the film crews get into the White House, too? ” ‘We tried,’ ” he says she told them, ” ‘but they wouldn’t let them in.’ ”

But the White House says there never was an invitation. Somehow the aspiring reality-TV stars managed to get themselves in Tuesday night and were photographed with Vice President Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, causing an international uproar about security at the executive mansion.

The Secret Service said the Salahis crashed the party and that the agency is investigating how the couple penetrated presidential security. The Salahis’ attorney, Paul W. Gardner, posted a statement on the couple’s Facebook page: “My clients were cleared, by the White House, to be there. More information is forthcoming.”

The Salahis did not respond to e-mails Thursday. But their publicist, Mahogany Jones, said in an e-mail: “We will be addressing this specifically with several media platforms.” Meanwhile, CNN announced that the now-famous couple would appear on “Larry King Live” on Monday night…

It is still unclear whether the couple managed to meet or be photographed with President Obama, Michelle Obama or the guest of honor. Guests went through a formal receiving line in the Blue Room before dinner, but a White House official said Thursday that he did not know if the couple went through the line. India’s embassy did not respond to a call for comment.

I wonder if the Secret Service was unionized when we weren’t looking.