Social-climbers summoned over White House security breach

Nov 30, 2009, 17:44 GMT

Washington - A pair of uninvited social climbers who buffaloed their way into the White House last week have been summoned to appear before a Congressional panel later this week, the committee chair said Monday.

The Secret Service, responsible for guarding President Barack Obama, has already admitted it was 'embarassed' by the 'failing' that led to the admission of socialites Tareq and Michaele Salahi of Virginia - would-be reality TV stars - to a White House event last week.

The Salahis brazenly talked their way into Obama's first state dinner that honored Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, capturing days of headlines out of the stunt. Photos show them being greeted by Obama and hamming it up with Vice President Joe Biden.

The House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday to investigate the matter. In addition to the Salahis, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan has also been summoned.

Threats against the president have reportedly risen drastically since the country elected its first African-American president. The fact that the Salahis were able to enter the White House without an invitation and without being on the guest list has sounded alarm bells across the US security establishment.

'This is a time for answers, recognition of security deficiencies past and present, and remedies to ensure the strength of the Secret Service and the safety of those under its protection,' said Bennie Thompson, the Democrat who chairs the committee, in a statement.

Sullivan said last week that agents failed to follow procedures that required them to verify 'that two individuals were on the guest list.'

'Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours,' Sullivan said in a statement last week.

According to the Washington Post on Monday, citing an unnamed source, the Salahis were admitted at the front gate by an agent who was convinced by their insistent manner and by the pressure of keeping the line moving on a rainy night.

A Washington Post reporter recognized the couple, in the news because they are reportedly bidding for a place in a new reality show about Washington DC housewives and have left a trail of unpaid creditors through a failed Virginnia wine business.

The reporter then checked the White House guest list to find their names were missing.

The Department of Homeland Security said they could not reveal whether the Salahis have been questioned by the Secret Service.

A photo released by the White House last week showed Obama shaking hands with Michaele Salahi in the receiving line with her husband and Singh on either side.

The couples attorney in Baltimore, Paul Gardner, insists they were approved to enter the White House.

The Salahi's brazen stunt recalled another recent bid by a Colorado family to be part of a reality show. After launching a helium ballon falsely claiming their six-year-old son was in it and triggering an hours-long air rescue chase, the parents now face jail terms.