So, I'm actually surprised no one posted this before since this happened like last week. Reality TV hopefuls. Candidates for Bravo's "new" show Real Housewives of D.C. Michaele and Tareq Salahi attend last Tuesday's dinner on the White House South Lawn for the prime minister of India and were not on the guest list.
Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said officers at the checkpoint had a clipboard with names of the invited guests. Even though the Salahis names weren't on it, they were allowed to proceed. It's unclear what they said to get through, but federal law makes it a crime to knowingly and willfully falsify statements on matters within the federal government's jurisdiction. The couple is currently facing a series of civil lawsuits.
This has drawn a lot of attention to the secret service and the president's safety. Though the couple went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, it still puts the president at risk. This has gotten a lot of media coverage so I thought I should do a post on this. What do you guys think of this situation?
On a side note, there's gonna be another Real Housewives series?!?!?!
Friday, November 27, 2009
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13 comments:
What kind of idiot lets an uninvited stranger into a party, especially one of this magnitude? There's a reason for the guest list. If it were that easy for these two to get in, who's to say that someone who would be an actual threat to the President's safety would not be able to do the same?
"Even though the Salahis names weren't on it, they were allowed to proceed."
That's all you really need to read to fully understand how our President's security fails.
:/
-Andrew Oxendine 3°
It is kind of scary to know that our Secret Service let someone get so close to the President and his family. What if these people were terrorists? I too wonder what they said or what they did to get past security. I don't think it matters if they were screened; it was still very dangerous. I hope something like this doesn't happen again.
I feel like everyone has a fault in this. First of all the two "crashers" deserve whatever punishment they get. They intruded on a private dinner in which they were not invited to in the first place, and they were a threat to national security. With that being said, something needs to be fixed with our secret service. Obviously, letting uninvited people in is unacceptable. However, I feel like all the criticism and media scrutiny the secret service has gotten from this is a little unfair for them. The secret service works tirelessly to ensure the safety of the president, and looking at the last few recent presidencies, they have done a fairly good job. But they never receive much news coverage for that. Now a mistake happens and the secret services is barraged suddenly by all sorts of media coverage.
-Michael Chan
and i thought that our secret service and all the security around the president was the best... i wish i was in the secret service meeting the next morning to listen to what they would have to say about this...
That makes me really scared that anyone can just walk into the white house. Weren't there multiple screenings to see who they were? But I saw on the news that the screenings were mostly if people had any weapons or things that were harmful. So I am wondering if these people had any connections with the white house staff, if someone snuck them in...
Hopefully this small incident will help strengthen security at the White House. In some ways, I think this was a good innocuous way of showing loopholes in the security system.
I heard on the news that that Salahis managed to get in through one particular checkpoint that didn't follow regular protocol, which makes me wonder if they knew this or if they knew the person checking. I agree with Jenny that this might've been a good thing so that the Secret Service will further strengthen and tighten their security system.
I also noticed that Mrs. Salahi was blonde and some might say "attractive," could her looks have gotten her and her husband into the dinner? I wonder if she was a minority or a foreigner would she still have been able to get in?
"I also noticed that Mrs. Salahi was blonde and some might say "attractive," could her looks have gotten her and her husband into the dinner? I wonder if she was a minority or a foreigner would she still have been able to get in?"
I think Dana brings up a really interesting point here, because I was kind of thinking the same thing. I know this sounds horrible, but I really think her attractive, all-American look allowed her to be easily overlooked. They looked the part. I doubt that a minority or foreigner would be as easily disregarded.
I also just saw on Yahoo! that the couple is looking into selling their "story" to news corporations for hundreds of thousands of dollars. honestly, that's just pathetic and weird. It seems that these days people can get their 15 minutes for anything. These people should be charged with some sort of crime, not celebrated in the media eye. grrrrr.
-Katie Jensen
What was the secret service thinking? Why would they let uninvited strangers into a party in which the president was attending? This is mind boggling.
The president is the most important job in the US and by letting these people in, they put his life and safety at risk. Even if he was checked for weapons and toehr things, humans can use their legs, arms, and hands at weapons. Also, bascailly anything around us can be used as weapons.
I think the group of people or person in charge of seeing if the guests are on the list of invited guest just thought to let them in since they are famous in that area. I think it is important for the secret service to make sure they verify each guest to be on the guest list carefully to prevent further things like this to happen.
When I read this, I too was surprised. The security at a White House event is supposed to be the best of the best. They are protecting the president. Luckily, in case of any attempt to harm the president, Obama was wearing some protective gear under his clothes. I think this couple was definitely after their 15 minutes of fame..although they are already on The Real Housewives, so htey probably just wanted to get their name out into the media. I agree with Dana and Katie that the all-American looks of the wife helped to get her in. I am also guessing that money could also be involved. This couple is on the Real Housewives, so im assuming they have a pretty significant amount of money since the show is basically about wealthy families living in huge houses and a story about their lavish, extravagant lifestyle.
While this is not something good. We should all be thankful that the evening did not turn out worse. I think the security will use this to learn a lesson and solve this problem before something worse could happen.
Ugh.. enough of these Housewives shows. I don't even see what is so great about Desperate Housewives.
Anyways, the Salahis must be incredibly desperate for attention to crash the President's dinner. Entertainment Weekly reported that they were filming the Salahis that day. I wonder if Bravo knew all along what this couple was planning to do later on in the evening. Unbelievable what people do just to be "famous"
I wonder what was going on in the minds of the Secret Service.
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