White House crashers

White House Social Secretary Gets an Executive Reprieve

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers received an executive reprieve from having to appear to testify before a Congressional sub-committee inquiry into the White House party crashers. Yet, the committee is planning on pressing forward with a subpoena to have the Virginia couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, appear.

A committee spokesman commented that they had heard a third of the story today from Mark Sullivan of the Secret Service and want to here another third from the Salahi’s, then ‘expecting’ the White House to eventually come forward with their side of the story.

This sure sounds biased in my opinion. The White House gives the Social Secretary a pass but who will give the same to the Salahi’s? So far, the White House has already ‘taken responsibility’ for the breach of security and is taking steps to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Many are questioning why the Secret Service would be taking a bullet for the White House Social Secretary and why the White House isn’t living by their campaign of transparency.

So, with that being said by the White House, what is the purpose of grilling the Salahi’s while Rogers gets off with Executive Privileges? Is that how it all works these days? Those in power get the breaks?

Will these same Congressman and women also be forced to use the SAME health care program that they plan to force on the general public? Why the favoritism?

White House Crashers Called Aspiring Reality Show Stars

Vice President Joe Biden put an arm around the waist of the glamorous, slender blonde in bright red Indian-style formal dress and flashed his pearly whites.

Three Marines in dress blues smiled and clasped their white-gloved hands in front of their bodies as the blonde joined them on what seems to be a White House portico.

And White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel leaned in for snapshot with the blonde as she draped a hand over the shoulder of her tuxedoed husband, her rings inches from a pair of official-looking badges on his lapel.

It’s not clear if the pins on the man’s tuxedo actually are official, but his presence at President Obama’s first state dinner wasn’t, and neither was his wife’s.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi crashed the dinner, in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday night, the Secret Service has confirmed.

The agents tasked with protecting the president “did not follow proper procedures,” secret srevice agent Edwin Donovan said in a statement. He said the gatecrashers went through metal detectors “and other levels of security.”

The incident represents a security breach for the white House at the Obama administration’s biggest social event to date. More than 300 guests, including Cabinet members, diplomats and Hollywood celebrities, attended the dinner.

The Salahis are aspiring reality TV stars who hoped to land roles in the forthcoming show, “The Real Housewives of D.C.,” by the Bravo cable network, The Washington Post reported.

Bravo says it’s in the nation’s capital to “identify the city’s alluring and discriminating residents, those women who have their pulse on the most important cultural events, political galas, gallery openings and fundraisers in Washington society.”

The network declined to comment about the Salahis. The couple is well-known in “wine country and polo circles” in Fauquier County, Virginia, west of Washington, the Post reported. Their presence at the White House caught the immediate attention of Roxanne Roberts, one of two Post columnists who writes the newspaper’s gossip column.

“When I saw them come in, I went ‘What on Earth are they doing here,’” Roberts told CNN.

The Post’s column Reliable Sources has described the Salahis as polo-playing socialites from northern Virginia.

Video of the dinner showed the couple walking past journalists into the event.

On Wednesday, the couple’s Facebook page included the photos of them at the dinner with Biden and Emanuel, who was identified on the page as “Ron,” not Rahm.

The couple controls a winery outside of Washington. It is closed but promises to reopen next year.

“Michaele & Tareq Salahi send a big Cheers!” says a notice on the Web site of Oasis winery, which Tareq battled his family to control, according to local news reports.

Tareq “grew up helping his father plant and cultivate the vineyard” on a “postage-stamp” plot of land in Fauquier County, which describes itself as being “on the fringe of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.”

“In recognition of his passion for making wine, his father pledged to sell the vineyard to him one day for a dollar, Salahi recalls,” according to the Fairfax Times newspaper.

But Tareq ended up fighting his family in court for the property, gaining control of it two years ago thanks to a wealthy friend in the real estate business who bought it for $4.15 million.

“This is not charity, but I am helping a friend. I’m just giving Tareq a vehicle to realize his dreams,” real estate agent N. Casey Margenau said, according to the newspaper.

Court records show that Oasis filed for bankruptcy in February, the Washington Post reported.

Contributor: alabi ayodeji
www.newslink2gether.blogspot.com

What Charges Will Be Filed Against the White House Crashers?

Hopefully NONE!

As the days go by the White House and Secret Service have yet to declare if and what charges may be filed against the Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, accused of crashing the recent state dinner for the India premier. It seems like they are befuddled on whether to charge them over their OWN short comings or just mark it up to experience. I say ‘mark it up and LEARN from it!”

There are talking heads saying things like ‘these ‘reality’ types need to be sent up on federal charges’ ‘the nerve of them thinking that they could do something like this and NOT be charged’, etc. Well folks, it’s time to get over it and come to the realization that the White House is NOT SECURE and is penetrable! Just think about it, all it took was a good looking blond with long hair accompanied by a nice looking gentleman in a tuxedo! That’s all it took! And they were escorted inside.

Now, to try to say that they ‘trespassed’ is a bit of a stretch seeing as they were ‘allowed’ inside after telling the Secret service their names, not some false names! If I was having a party at my house and my teenager answered the door and let someone in who said they were invited, would THAT be trespassing on my property? I rather doubt it since the kids let them in.

There do not appear to be any photos of them eating dinner so what did they steal if being charged with theft? Maybe they stole the Secret Service’s pride! This will be a lesson to governments around the world to look into their own type of security and make sure it doesn’t happen to them. I read a report that the S.S. is NOW planning on ‘testing’ their security with similar tactics. Maybe the Virginia couple will be invited to share with them how they were able to pull this (supposedly) gate crash off.

It’s time for the White House and the Secret Service to stop trying to point the blame on the Virginia couple as their own scapegoat and own up to the fact that THEY blew it. It’s as simple as that! So when will they get their trophy for ‘saving’ our President from future terrorist attacks?

Give The White House Crashers An Award!

With all the talk about filing charges against the Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, who ‘supposedly’ crashed Obama’s first big state dinner party, instead they should be forging them a nice trophy to place on their mantle!

Sure, it embarrassed the Secret Service but what are the chances the S.S. could have planned such a stunt and been able to pull it off to test their own system? The trouble with bigwigs planning some type of their own sting operation is that they try to make it so perfect that it becomes obvious. Yet, a couple who probably did minor planning looked so innocent that they were allowed into the reception.

What makes it even more incredulous is that they were able to rub shoulders with VP Joe Biden and even pose for pictures shaking President Obama’s hand. What’s the chance that the S.S. could have been so clever as to pull it off to this extent?

To charge them with theft (the dinner?), trespassing (they were allowed in), false information (they never said they were anybody but themselves), or whatever charges they try to trump up would only serve to cover up their (S.S. and White House staff) own shortcomings.

Like I said, let it be a learning experience to make sure it never happens again. This couple was able to show the world that this type of penetration could be done at our President’s home. They showed that we HAVE a problem with the security of our President. Now, a full investigation needs to be done, security tightened and a few heads put on the chopping block. Then, after a few heads roll, invite the couple BACK to the White House and honor them with an appropriate award, not jail time!

This is no different than the terrorists being able to penetrate the Green Zone overseas even with our safety net. Americans should be embracing this couple who will ultimately be RESPONSIBLE for improving the security we THOUGHT our President enjoyed!

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