WASHINGTON - The Secret Service is investigating how a Virginia couple slipped through security checkpoints and crashed President Obama's first state dinner this week, Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the agency, said Thursday.
In photos posted on Facebook, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, of Virginia, rub shoulders and beam smiles with partygoers and the powerful, including Vice President Biden. The Salahis also are shown posing with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, CBS anchor Katie Couric, and three Marines in dress blue uniforms.
The story of the unwanted dinner guests was first reported byThe Washington Post. The Salahis were not on the list of those invited to the dinner Tuesday in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, Donovan said.
About 320 people attended the party and dinner, which was served in a heated tent on the South Lawn of the White House.
VIDEO: Couple 'crashes' White House state dinner
THE OVAL: List of Obama's guests at India state dinner
Guards apparently waved the Salahis through security checkpoints. "It appears that proper procedures were not followed," Donovan said.
The couple did not pose a threat to the president or other dignitaries, Donovan said. Partygoers, including the uninvited Salahis, had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
At the dinner, the president, vice president and others were still protected by their "usual complement" of Secret Service personnel, Donovan said.
"In that regard, everything worked the way it's supposed to work," he said.
The Salahis are under consideration for a role on Bravo's new reality show, Real Housewives of D.C., her Facebook page shows.
Bravo Media confirmed that Michaele Salahi is being considered for the show. Half Yard Productions, the producer of the program, filmed the couple "preparing for the event" on the day of the dinner, said Johanna Fuentes, a vice president for Bravo Media. She said the Salahis "informed Half Yard that they were invited, the producers had no reason to believe otherwise."
In September, Michaele Salahi, a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, told CBS' Early Show that a trip to the White House was a top priority. "President Obama has made it very accessible for anyone to visit the White House, so that's like a big thing right now," she said.
The Post also has reported that Tareq Salahi had fought for control of the Virginia winery Oasis, which he co-owned with his parents. The winery went bankrupt this year, and the Salahis are now soliciting investors for a scheduled reopening in 2010, according to the winery's website.
Tareq Salahi could not be reached for comment.
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
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