Third Gatecrasher at Obama State Dinner (Updated x2)
[Guest post by DRJ]
“Michaele and Tareq Salahi were not the only uninvited guests at the White House state dinner in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
At the last minute, someone from the Indian diplomatic delegation invited a man to attend the White House event on Nov. 24 without the knowledge or consent of the White House.
As with the Salahis, the Secret Service ignored the fact that the man was not on the guest list and failed to conduct a background check on him.”
The Secret Service discovered the added guest after watching surveillance “video of arriving guests and attempted to match the images with the guest list.” It was only then that they spotted an “African-American man wearing a tuxedo who had not been invited” who appeared to be with the Indian delegation.
In commerce, you get what you pay for but I don’t think that’s true when it comes to government.
— DRJ
UPDATE: The Washington Post reports a Congressional source identified the third man as D.C. party promoter Carlos Allen, who like the Salahis may have attended the reception but not the dinner. As explained in the Washington Post article and in the following quote, the State Department is getting some of the blame:
“Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said the new discovery may implicate not only the Secret Service, which is under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security Committee, but also the State Department: “This incident, along with the terror attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab may well show that the State Department is a weak link in U.S. security.”
In a Politico article, Carlos Allen denies he was at the dinner but it’s not clear if he denies being at the White House (despite a contrary statement by the Politico article):
“But Allen, the CEO of HUSH Society magazine, told POLITICO Monday afternoon that he was not at the White House on Nov. 24.
“I did not attend the state dinner,” Allen repeated three times.”
Finally,the Secret Service waited almost 6 weeks to reveal this information despite knowing about the third gatecrasher shortly after the event.
UPDATE: A man claiming to be Allen’s lawyer says Allen was there, was invited, and that he stayed for the dinner:
“Mr. Allen traveled to the White House in a State Department van with a group of Indian chief executives who had gathered at The Willard, a downtown Washington hotel where they also underwent security screening.
A spokesman for the Indian Embassy, Rahul Chhabra, said the embassy “did not seek or facilitate any access” for Mr. Allen. An American official said it was unclear how Mr. Allen, clad in a tuxedo, knew about the meeting spot. “He shows up at the exact right time,” the official said, “in the exact right room, in the exact right hotel, in the exact right attire.”
Curious.
Were the Secret Service agents thoughtful enough to order a few extra pizzas for these ‘extra’ guests?
Corwin (ea9428) — 1/4/2010 @ 12:21 pmThis is very troubling.
I am amused, however, at the limits of PC language:
We’ve no idea what country he was from, but he’s described as African American.
MayBee (a4324b) — 1/4/2010 @ 12:34 pmSay what? An “African-American man…” who was supposedly invited by “… someone from the Indian diplomatic delegation…”
Would it be considered wildly inappropriate to ask if perhaps “someone from the Obama Administration” may have information which would clarify who the man was and how he got past the Secret Service check point?
Or, should we just assume he’s from Nigeria and was on his was to the airport when a sharp dressed man put in a good word for him with the security guards?
ropelight (e11c16) — 1/4/2010 @ 12:41 pmGreat point, MayBee. I have a friend from India who is very dark-skinned and could easily pass for African-American. I guess we are not allowed to say “dark-skinned” any longer, so we use “African-American” as a catchall phrase for anyone from any continent who has pigmentation darker than George Hamilton’s.
JVW (8704f2) — 1/4/2010 @ 1:06 pmWe absolutely have the government we deserve.
Ed from SFV (1333b1) — 1/4/2010 @ 1:38 pmHe very well could have been an Indian National from Southern India, where the people have a very dark skin color.
And these are the people that will be entrusted with our health-care?
AD - RtR/OS! (d74691) — 1/4/2010 @ 1:51 pmi doubt we all deserve the government we have, but it certainly looks like Ear Leader has the security he personally deserves, given how little concern he has for ours….
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 1/4/2010 @ 1:59 pmThere’s no full body scanner at WH events, right? So some suicide bomber in a rented dinner jacket could just appear, and blow up the whole place.
KateC (7f3e3d) — 1/4/2010 @ 3:56 pmHey, with six I hear you get egg rolls.
daleyrocks (718861) — 1/4/2010 @ 4:03 pmIt reminds of the time that Mavis Leno (Jay’s missus) was being interviewed. She wanted to stress the point that the subject of the discussion was actually from Africa, so she uttered these immortal words
Gazzer (3dc9fc) — 1/4/2010 @ 4:40 pm“No, he’s an African, African American…”
The only surprise is that it wasn’t Greg Packer…
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/kausfiles/archive/2009/01/18/special-obama-commemorative-edition.aspx
GeneralMalaise (68a574) — 1/4/2010 @ 6:23 pmI updated the post.
DRJ (84a0c3) — 1/5/2010 @ 12:22 amSo, today’s version of the story is that a well known DC “party promoter” Carlos Allen, went to the hotel were the Indian delegation was waiting for a State Department guide to bring them to the White House. Allen joined the group and was passed through security and into the official function.
Shortly after the event, pictures on his Facebook page showed him there, but after the Salahi story hit the news, the pictures immediately disappeared, and when questioned, Allen claimed he wasn’t at the “dinner.” Now, the evidence clearly shows he was there. Why did he pretend otherwise?
A continuation of the Salahi blame game is in full swing, the Secret Service and the State Department are the designated fall guys, but I can’t but notice a possible connection between Carlos Allen and the White House.
Carlos Allen promotes parties, and White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers organizes parties for Michelle Obama and her husband. Desiree’s name doesn’t seem to merit a mention in the speculation about how Allen got in, and who might have sent him to the Indian delegation’s back door.
ropelight (706b29) — 1/5/2010 @ 7:05 am“This incident…may well show that the State Department is a weak link in U.S. security.”
Well, DUH.
Would “darkly-complected” or “pigment-advantaged” get by the layers of fact-checkers and editors? Prol’ly not..furious
furious (b6aff2) — 1/5/2010 @ 11:46 amDesire Rogers….A Great American.
AD - RtR/OS! (9812f2) — 1/5/2010 @ 12:02 pmProbably will receive a sinecure on a “Life Panel”.
I’ve updated the post. This story is even more curious than the Salahis.
DRJ (84a0c3) — 1/5/2010 @ 10:30 pm