Security breach at PM-Obama dinner
Zeenews Bureau
Washington: The US Secret Service says it's looking into its own security procedures after determining that two people crashed Tuesday night's state dinner at the White House.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says that President Barack Obama and PM Manmohan Singh were never in any danger. Donovan says the party crashers went through the same security screening as the 300-plus people actually invited to the dinner honoring PM.
The couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, are reported to be starring on a reality TV show in US called, "The Real Housewives of D.C.".
Donovan says the Secret Service first learned about the security breach Wednesday morning after media inquiries prompted by the crashers' online boasts about having attended the private event. The couple went through all mandatory security checks, he said.
A White House official has said they were not invited.
The Washington Post reports that photos from the state dinner appear on the Facebook page of one of the dinner crashers.
"I was honored to be invited to attend the First State Dinner hosted by President Obama & [sic] the First Lady to honor India," says Michaele Salahi on her Facebook page. "In June 2010, the America's Polo Cup will be between INDIA & the UNITED STATES [sic]."
However, a publicist for the couple denied they were gate-crashers.