Obama Greeted Salahis at State Dinner
‘Real Housewives’ Crew Wouldn’t Film Party Crashers
UPDATE 11/28/09: The producers of Bravo’s ‘Real Housewives’ franchise backed down from filming Michaele and Tareq Salahi as they crashed the Official State Dinner last week, according to the New York Daily News.
The camera crew, who had earlier filmed three parties hosted by the Salahi’s, had a change of heart after finding out just how strict White House security clearance requirements really were.
The production company behind ‘Real Housewives’ says they were told the Salahi’s were invited to the dinner. Bravo Networks had no comments, except that they’re standing behind the production company.
Michaele Salahi is under consideration as one of the housewives for ‘The Real Housewives of D.C.’
UPDATE 11/27/09: Secret Service agents are looking to speak with the White House state dinner’s party crashers, according to CNN. Two agents arrived at their winery, Oasis Winery in Hume, Virginia, to speak with Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Employees did not know their whereabouts.
According to the Warren County Report, a local newspaper, the agents said they wanted to speak with the couple and not arrest them.
Court records for the couple revealed an extensive history of federal bankruptcy and state court filings for the Salahis. The couple are involved in at least 16 different civil suits in Virginia, sometimes as plaintiffs, sometimes as defendants.
The Secret Service released the following statement today:
“The Secret Service is deeply concerned and embarrassed by the circumstances surrounding the State Dinner on Tuesday,” the agency said in a statement Friday. “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.”
“Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours,” the statement said.
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11/26/09: They’re being called the White House Party Crashers. Couple Michaele Salahi and Tareq Salahi slipped through the cracks when the U.S. Secret Service forgot to follow the correct checkpoint procedures at the Official State Dinner and did not ensure that they were on the guest list. The Salahi’s mingled with the over 300 guests, an even grabbed a photo with VP Joe Biden, which they later posted on their Facebook Page.
While the incident brought White House safety in question, Edwin Donavon, a Secret Service special agent said, “It is important to note that these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of security, as did all guests attending the dinner,” according to CNN.
For their scam, the Salahi’s are being considered for ‘The Real Housewives of Washington D.C.’ They’re sure to make some 2009’s biggest stories list.