Two uninvited guests gate crash Obama-Singh White House state dinner
By ANIThursday, November 26, 2009
NEW YORK - Two uninvited guests managed to make their way into the recent state dinner at the White House, the US Secret Service has confirmed.
Michaele Salahi, wrapped in a red and gold sari along with and her black-tuxedoed husband Tareq walked past the camera crews and reporters like other high profilers attending the dinner on November 24.
Edwin M. Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service, confirmed that the couple, who reportedly star on a US reality TV show, “The Real Housewives of D.C.”, were not on the guest list, reports the New York Times.
Donovan said that “initial findings identified a Secret Service checkpoint which did not follow proper procedures,” which may have allowed the pair to break into the event in honour of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, and his wife, Gursharan Kaur.
Writing in an e-mail message, he said: “It is important to note that these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of security, as did all guests attending the dinner.”
He added: “The bottom line is that they should not have gotten in.”
Donovan said the matter was being investigated and that there were no other known examples of similar kind of party-crashing at the White House.
The dinner crashers uploaded photographs of themselves at the dinner on their Facebook page: “Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!” (ANI)
