Couple gatecrash White House dinner party

MICHAELE and Tareq Salahi didn’t look out of place at Tuesday’s White House state dinner. They were all smiles as they rubbed shoulders with Vice President Joe Biden, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and CBS News anchor Katie Couric.

No one suspected the Salahis were a couple of brazen party crashers – and wannabe reality TV stars.

The Secret Service is looking into its security procedures after determining that the Virginia couple managed to slip into Tuesday night's event even though they were not on the guest list, a spokesman said.

President Barack Obama was never in any danger because the Salahis went through the same security screening for weapons as the 300-plus people actually invited to the dinner honouring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he added.

The Washington Post, which first reported on their evening out, said the Salahis were well-known in the Virginia horse-country set and were being considered for the Bravo reality TV show Real Housewives of DC.

The Secret Service learned about the breach after a media inquiry prompted by the Salahis’ online boasts about having attended the private event.