House panel to hold hearings on couple who crashed White House dinner

The couple who apparently crashed a White House state dinner got an invitation to another government event: The House Homeland Security Committee announced that it will hold a hearing this week on how they gave security the slip.

In a statement posted on the committee’s website, Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said he had requested that Tareq and Michaele Salahi testify before the panel. Also asked to appear was Mark Sullivan, head of the Secret Service, which handles security for the White House. Sullivan has formally apologized for the incident, which he called an embarrassment to the agency.

“This is a time for answers, recognition of security deficiencies past and present, and remedies to ensure the strength of the Secret Service and the safety of those under its protection,” Thompson said.

“This is not the time for political games or scapegoating to distract our attention from the careful oversight we must apply to the Secret Service and its mission. My confidence in the management of the Secret Service hangs in the balance,” he said.

The hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

The Salahis, who were not on the official guest list, attended the state dinner for the Indian prime minister last week and even shook hands with President Obama and others on the receiving line. The couple reportedly were in the running for a reality television show.

-- Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal

Photo: President Obama greets Michaele and Tareq Salahi on the receiving line in the Blue Room of the White House before the state dinner for India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Credit: White House photo by Samantha Appleton / EPA

Comments

[John Thomas]

My friend just retired from the Secret Service after 25 years and he told me that this year has been the absolute worse for the Secret Service in the White House. Obamas handlers specifically Little Napoleon (Rahm Emanuel) makes the Services' job very difficult. He wants to control everything about the security therefore making the Services' job though. I would not blame the Secret Service so quickly, lets look it all the facts. Rahm Emanuel need to take the fall on this but he wont.

[JM]

How about holding a hearing about how our economy was brought to its knees last year instead? They're still trying to put that review together, but they're all over this already? This is a joke.

[Times Reader]

I really hope that the government really sticks it to these clowns. They should have to pay for all of the costs of the investigations and have a criminal record.
They are too full of themselves and need to have their butts thoroughly kicked.

[Gary]

Obviously the Salahi's are campaign contributors showing up at the White House looking for some pay back. Typically these democrats will give a few thousand to the campaign, then collect a few million in government contracts later. A 10,000-fold return on your investment. Are you wondering where that TRILLION dollar stimulus went and where the jobs are? There is your answer.

[doggit]

It is OK because they didn't have metal weapons and no one can kill with a karate blow-right?????

[Mike Licht]

Not the first time the Obama White House has had gatecrashers.

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/masked-raiders-infiltrate-white-house/

[MO]

They have nothing better on which to spend our hard earned taxes?

[rey]

nobody cares. we're all glad the goober in chief had his party crashed. how dare him waste tax payer money on these parties during a recession that he orchestrated. i hope all his parties get crashed.

[abby]

How about instead of a House panel hearing, the couple get a hearing before a judge and some jail time?

I'm sick of these people who will do anything for fame and fortune.

Enough already.

Put them in jail without TV privileges or appearances.

[Emlyn]

It's another symptom of the Me-Generation, where civility is optional and social etiquette is only observed so long as it serves the self.

In the running for a reality TV show? Didn't we just see this last month with the balloon boy's Dad?

Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk.

[Jeff]

I thought I'd heard about one of the "Real Housewives" on Bravo whose house was about to go into foreclosure. Is this a trend?

[EC]

I believe that they are just pathetic wanna-be's.