Obama's first state dinner

19 Stories

WH Gatecrasher: Whoopi F-Bombed Me!
 Michaele Salahi: 
 Whoopi 'Abused' Me  
drama on 'the view'

Michaele Salahi: Whoopi 'Abused' Me

She was merely 'defending herself,' says ABC

(Newser) - Tearful White House gatecrasher Michaele Salahi charges she was subjected to "outrageous abuse" by Whoopi Goldberg after her appearance on The View yesterday. Whoopi "was screaming and dropping the F-bomb many, many times," she charged. Salahi was trying to plug her new spot on the Real Housewives ...

Meet Carlos Allen, 3rd Gatecrasher
 Meet Carlos Allen, 
 3rd Gatecrasher 
WHITE HOUSE STATE DINNER

Meet Carlos Allen, 3rd Gatecrasher

Sketchy guy hooked up with Indian posse after trip to men's room

(Newser) - What lapse allowed Carlos Allen, the third party crasher, to sneak into the Obamas' first state dinner remains a mystery. What is known is that Allen—who has done everything from designing clothes to selling mortgages to running a questionable charity that existed mainly to throw parties—dressed even more...

Third Person Crashed State Dinner: White House
Third Person Crashed State Dinner: White House
MORE FUN WITH GUEST LISTS

Third Person Crashed State Dinner: White House

Party-crasher was traveling with Indian delegation

(Newser) - Another person not on the guest list was allowed into a White House state dinner for India's prime minister in November, the Secret Service says. Today's acknowledgment brings the tally to three people who made it through Secret Service security at the White House without being on the state dinner...

President on Gatecrashers: 'Never Again'

Obama 'unhappy' with everyone involved

(Newser) - President Obama said he was angry about the "screw up" that allowed a couple to crash his state dinner two weeks ago. The president said he was "unhappy with everybody who was involved in the process" because "although I chafe at being in the bubble, I also...

House Subpoenas Gate-Crashers

But the Salahis say they'll take the Fifth

(Newser) - A House committee followed up on its threat to force the couple who crashed President Obama's State Dinner last month to testify. Lawmakers voted to subpoena Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who refused to appear voluntarily. Even now, the Salahis say they will take the Fifth when they show up, the...

Secret Service Agents Face Firing for Salahi Slip

Two agents on leave, face disciplinary action

(Newser) - The two Secret Service agents who let Michaele and Tareq Salahi crash last week’s state dinner have been placed on administrative leave and may be fired, agency chief Mark Sullivan told Congress today. Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, the Secret Service director took full responsibility for the...

Party Crashers Make Desirée Rogers Look Bad
 Party Crashers Make 
 Desirée Rogers Look Bad 
TOO-SOCIAL SECRETARIES

Party Crashers Make Desirée Rogers Look Bad

Is White House social secretary to blame for Michaele and Tareq Salahi?

(Newser) - A week’s worth of finger-pointing over how Michaele and Tareq Salahi managed to crash a state dinner has now turned the spotlight on a controversial figure: White House social secretary Desirée Rogers. Unlike demure secretaries before her, the attention-grabbing Rogers “arrived in Washington this year to great...

Salahis Fit In With DC Poseurs
 Salahis Fit In With DC Poseurs 
Maureen Dowd

Salahis Fit In With DC Poseurs

Washington's full of preeners, fakers, and wannabes

(Newser) - The Salahis have finally gotten a real invite to a high-brow Washington event—a Congressional hearing into their infamous party crashing. Surely, the Salahis shouldn’t have been allowed to slip in—it shows a Secret Service “with glaring—and chilling—vulnerabilities and liabilities,” writes Maureen Dowd in...

Salahis Crashed Black Caucus Event
 Salahis Crashed 
 Black Caucus Event 
FOOL ME ONCE...

Salahis Crashed Black Caucus Event

No, we didn't, they say, but had no tickets and were booted

(Newser) - The state dinner party crashers have rubbed elbows with Washington's elite before in what one miffed attendee calls “some practice” for the more recent intrusion. Michaele and Tareq Salahi were in attendance at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Dinner in September, where Obama spoke, and have Facebook pictures to...

Gatecrashers Thought Defense Official Scored Invites

Sources say emails support Salahis' story

(Newser) - Secret Service investigators are examining an email exchange between the Salahis and a Pentagon official that allegedly caused the gatecrashers to believe they were invited to last week's state dinner. The emails contain assurances from Michele Jones that she was doing her best to score the couple an invite, sources...

Salahis Invited to Capitol Hill ... Through Front Door

Party crashers haven't been subpoenaed. Yet.

(Newser) - The House Committee on Homeland Security has asked the couple who crashed last week's White House state dinner to testify on Thursday. Tareq and Michaele Salahi have not confirmed that they will appear, and testifying could complicate their plans to auction off the story of how they infiltrated the theoretically...

Party Crashers Shop Interview
 Party Crashers Shop Interview 
PRICE TAG: SIX FIGURES

Party Crashers Shop Interview

They want hundreds of thousands to tell their tale.

(Newser) - The couple who infamously crashed President Barack Obama's first state dinner are peddling their story to broadcast networks for hundreds of thousands of dollars, a television executive says. The executive told the AP that representatives for Michaele and Tareq Salahi contacted networks to urge them to "get their bids...

State Dinner Interlopers Met Obamas

Secret Service confirms failure of procedures

(Newser) - Michaele and Tareq Salahi not only penetrated White House security before Tuesday's state dinner but actually went through the receiving line, where they were greeted by President Obama and Michelle Obama. The red-faced director of the Secret Service released a statement today saying, "Preliminary findings of our internal investigation...

Party-Crashers Conned Secret Service

Couple talked their way past security, may face criminal charges

(Newser) - The state dinner crashers got in on pure chutzpah, conning a Secret Service agent into giving them access without verifying their names in the White House computer even though they weren't on the guest list. A law enforcement official tells MSNBC that rumors an administration official "waved in" Tareq...

Gatecrashers Named In 16 Lawsuits
Gatecrashers Named
In 16 Lawsuits

Gatecrashers Named In 16 Lawsuits

Salahis engaged in numerous court battles

(Newser) - White House gatecrashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi appear to spend a lot of their time in court when they're not trying out for reality TV or sneaking into diplomatic functions. The two are named in no less than 16 civil lawsuits in Virginia's Fauquier County, sometimes as plaintiffs and sometimes...

Party-Crashers Got Close to Obamas Before
Party-Crashers Got Close
to Obamas Before
FACEBOOK DOESN'T LIE, RIGHT?

Party-Crashers Got Close to Obamas Before

Photos show them in inaugural box; Secret Service admits mistake

(Newser) - The Secret Service admitted the obvious today, saying that security measures “weren’t followed” at Tuesday’s White House dinner, which a Virginia couple auditioning for a reality show crashed. And, the Washington Post reports, it appears the couple got pretty close to the president-elect during inauguration festivities, even...

Va. Socialites Crashed Obama's State Dinner
 Va. Socialites Crashed 
 Obama's State Dinner 
NEXT STOP, REALITY TV (MAYBE)

Va. Socialites Crashed Obama's State Dinner

And, yes, Tareq and Michaele Salahi want reality-TV turn

(Newser) - A wealthy Virginia couple angling for a spot on reality TV somehow talked their way into last night’s White House state dinner despite not being on the list—getting through extensive layers of security to rub elbows with President Obama, India’s prime ministers and scores of other political,...

The Skinny on the State Dinner
 The Skinny on the State Dinner 
Michelle wore...

The Skinny on the State Dinner

Michelle Obama wore Naeem Khan, and other tidbits

(Newser) - Didn't have a ticket to the country's hottest social event? No worries. Here's the who and what of last night's state dinner honoring Indian PM Manmohan Singh:
  • The outdoor tent was decorated with local, sustainably harvested magnolia branches and ivy; centerpieces of hydrangeas, roses, and sweet peas evoked India's state
...

India, DC, Hollywood Mix at Obama Shindig
 India, DC, 
 Hollywood Mix 
 at Obama Shindig 
WHITE HOUSE STATE DINNER

India, DC, Hollywood Mix at Obama Shindig

GOP, Dems rub elbows with movie stars, media types

(Newser) - Swaths of green and purple surrounded guests tonight as the White House paid tribute to Indian PM Manmohan Singh at the first state dinner given by President Obama. The company was top-notch, with Washington’s elite (from both parties) rubbing elbows with Hollywood stars and media elites. For the guest...

19 Stories