On November 24, 2009, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, a married couple from Virginia, and Carlos Allen, an entrepreneur from the District of Columbia, attended a White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh without being invited guests. The Salahis and Mr. Allen arrived separately and do not appear to have colluded in their efforts. They could pass through two security checkpoints (including one requiring positive photograph identification), enter the White House complex, and meet President Barack Obama. Fallout from the incident included an array of security investigations, legal inquiries, and sensationalistic reporting.
Contents [hide]
1 The Incident
1.1 Motivation
1.2 Preparation
1.3 Breach and Attendance
2 Aftermath
2.1 Formal inquiry
2.2 Reactions
2.2.1 Salahi incident
2.3 Repercussions for the Salahis
2.3.1 Loss of status
2.3.2 Reality tv
2.4 Social criticism
2.5 Cultural references
3 See also
4 References
5 Outside links
5.1 Salahis' Facebook page related to the incident
5.2 Multimedia
5.3 Oasis Winery sites
5.4 Organizations
5.5 Government sites
[edit]The Incident
[edit]Motivation
Michaele Salahi has been filmed as one of the housewives for Bravo's upcoming The Actual Housewives of Washington, D.C.[1][2][3][4][5] Cameramen for the show filmed the Salahis' preparations for the dinner and followed the couple to the White House.[6][7] They has allegedly received an "appearance fee" for her participation in this film project.[8] Sky News reported: "The Salahis hope to build a public profile in the US after appearing in the filming for the reality TV show The Actual Housewives of Washington, D.C., though their contribution was seldom aired."[9] [10]
[edit]Preparation
Tim Burke, director of the gatecrashing reality show MTV Blaggers!, said that Tareq Salahi contacted him about a week before the White House incident for advice on tricking one's way in to a black-tie event.[11]
Michaele Salahi spent two hours in the Erwin Gomez Salon in Georgetown to prepare for the November 24, 2009, state dinner, with a film crew from The Actual Housewives accompanying her. In contrast to the more sedate black or navy blue evening gowns worn by most female guests, Michaele wore a gold-embroidered red ensemble, to which the press widely referred as a sari (more exactly, a lehenga-style sari and choli).[12] Michaele was recorded on film saying that they had conferred with Rogers as to whether wearing this apparel would be appropriate, and that "they thought the sari was a great idea."[13][14] Aparajita Mukherjee of the Times of India later deduced that Michaele probably bought the ensemble in the Janpath market of New Delhi in the work of a July 2009 visit to invite the Indian polo team to participate in the 2010 America's Polo Cup.[15] Michaele Salahi also wore pricey David Yurman jewelry to the event; reportedly, a Washington-area store lent her the bracelets and rings, in total worth $30,000, and needed two attempts to retrieve them.[16][17] In February 2010, Michaele told an Australian tv interviewer her apparel would be auctioned to raise money for Haitian earthquake relief.[18], but there is nothing to date that indicates this auction ever took place.
[edit]Breach and Attendance
Tareq and Michaele Salahi entered the state dinner in honor of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite allegedly lacking an invitation, although their camera crew was unable to follow them.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The Salahis passed through two security checkpoints, one of which checked them for photograph ID.[27] Robin Givhan of the Washington Post surmised that the Salahis were allowed to enter because they "looked the part" and, in her words, stepped through a "cultural blind spot."[28] The Washington Post also quoted an anonymous official as having said that "the Salahis were allowed inside in violation of agency policies by an officer outside the front gate who apparently was persuaded by the couple's manner and insistence as well as the pressure of keeping lines moving on a rainy evening."[29] The White House social secretary, Desirée Rogers, later told media that a member of her staff was at the main entrance to handle arriving guests not on the visitor list, but that the Secret Service did not alert her staff to either the Salahis or Carlos Allen.[30] The New York Times subsequently reported that Rogers had posted an worker of her office only at the East Portico checkpoint, but not at the first, "outer" checkpoint, a departure from past practice.[31]
The Washington Post's Roxanne Roberts recognized the Salahis and subsequently wrote,
The minute I noticed they were not on the list, I asked a White House staffer to confirm their names and report why they were not on the list. I told the same thing to another staffer a couple of minutes later. This was before the Salahis went through the receiving line with the president, and they might have been pulled aside and quietly questioned.[32]
Roberts' suspicions were apparently not acted upon; according to media reports, "the first the White House security detail knew of their blunder in allowing [the Salahis] in to Tuesday's event was when the couple posted photographs from the dinner on their Facebook page."[33] The White House on November 27 released its own images of the couple posing with President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel.[34]
Invited visitor Brian Williams, anchor of the NBC Nightly News, observed the Salahis' SUV being turned down from the East Gate entrance of the White House that evening, after which the Salahis and crew left their vehicle and walked toward the White House.[27]
After returning from the White House, the Salahis posted their images from the dinner on Michaele's Facebook page.[35] This led to the discovery that the Salahis were not on the list of invited guests for the dinner, and ought to not have been admitted. Later reports and reviews of videotape revealed Mr. Allen as a third gatecrasher on that evening.
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