“Two would-be reality TV stars, apparently waltzing past security and right up to the president. The Chairman of the House Oversight Committee has called for a briefing on this incident this week. In the meantime, people are asking just who are the Salahis and what was their claim to fame before this incident?” (FOX News)
The case of the White House Party crashers has become front-page headlines. A couple showed up uninvited to President Obama’s first White House State Dinner. So, is the couple guilty of a crime, or are they just attention seeking reality star hopefuls? And what should happen to them now?
The Secret Service issued a public apology and has begun an internal investigation about the incident.
We bring you perspectives from CNN, Fox News, The Huffington Post, and NBC.
On CNN former Bush Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend says, what will happen to the Salahis depends on whether or not they lied.
“What happens to them now? Well I’ll tell you if they lied to get their way in, that is if they made a statement to someone at the gate, that is a Secret Service agent, and said that they were there because they were invited. That’s a lie. It would be a lie to a federal official and that’s a felony.”
Ed Rollins of CNN says, what they did is a serious matter, and they should be punished.
“...The Salahis are no different, and shouldn't be regarded any differently, than a nut case who jumps over the White House fence and tries to run in the front door. The only difference is that the fence-jumper would be shot ten feet from the entrance point.”
FOX News agrees, and brings us a perspective from Peter King, the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives.
“Mr. and Mrs. Salahi, this isn't a game. This isn't breaking into a fashion show. We're talking about the security of the United States being at risk here.”
Michael Russnow disagrees and writes in The Huffington Post that the Salahis achieved an incredible thing. He goes on to say that they should not be punished.
“Crashing a party, even at The White House, does not rise to the level of a federal crime… I'm saying what the Salahis did was a rather remarkable achievement, but no more a cause for alarm than if they had achieved the same result at a dinner attended by President Obama at the Waldorf-Astoria.”
So how remarkable of a feat was it? NBC's Brian Williams, who attended the event, said security was very tight.
"As far as I'm concerned, security couldn't have been tighter. Our vehicle was stopped three times, sniffed by dogs, we had two photo ID checks, three checkpoints on our way into the grounds. We were questioned by plain clothed members of the Secret Service. Our names had to be checked off a list."
So what do you think? Are the Salahis harmless pranksters? Or should they feel the full extent of the law?
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