Murky history of would-be TV stars who gate-crashed White House party

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 21:39

THE publicity-hungry couple who gate-crashed a state dinner at the White House on a mission to become television stars are no strangers to controversy, it has been revealed.

They owe at least $1 million and their past includes bankruptcy, tax defaults and legal wrangles.

As a Secret Service investigation continued into how Tareq and Michaele Salahi got into Tuesday's gala reception, attended by President Barack Obama and other VIPs including the prime minister of India, the question of why they staged the stunt appeared to have been answered.

The couple, high-profile members of Washington's society circuit, were reported to be mired in debt, with their $600,000 home in Virginia in foreclosure, their Maserati sports car, an Aston Martin and a motorboat repossessed, and debts including $60,000 on a credit card and $224,000 for use of a hospitality suite at the Washington Redskins' football stadium outstanding.

As the Salahis hid yesterday, ready for "media interviews and press junkets" promised by their publicist for next week, evidence was mounting that their White House escapade was part of a brazen plan to forge lucrative new careers as reality TV show stars.

They took a camera crew to film them on their big night out for a forthcoming TV series The Real Housewives of DC.

Mrs Salahi was so keen to look her best that she spent seven hours at a beauty salon in Georgetown beforehand. "The stylist doing Michaele's hair asked to see the White House invitation. She (Mrs Salahi] starts rummaging through her purse and then said, 'It must be out in the car,'" revealed the salon's owner, James Packard-Gomez.

The White House and Secret Service insist there was no invitation.

A statement from their lawyer on the Salahis' Facebook page yesterday, which also featured photographs of them with VIPs including Joe Biden, the vice-president, claimed: "My clients were cleared by the White House to be there."

Some speculated that the statement was a play on the fact that the pair were mistakenly nodded through checkpoints due to a security breakdown.

NBC news anchor Brian Williams, one of the 320 invited guests, said security procedures appeared to have been strict. His vehicle was stopped twice going into the grounds and inspected by sniffer dogs. He and his wife went through three checkpoints, were asked for proof of their identity twice and were questioned by Secret Service agents.

He said he saw the Salahis' vehicle being turned away but they joined a pedestrian queue and were allowed in.

The Salahis were busy trying to cash in on their notoriety yesterday, posting a message on their Facebook page offering to endorse products and companies.