WASHINGTON — Famous White House party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi have opened what continues to be a public relations nightmare for the U.S. Secret Service and its director Mark Sullivan.
The latest is that a third uninvited guest was at the now infamous state dinner, according to media reports including Newswmax.com’s Ronald Kessler, author of a book highly critical of the Secret Service.
According to Newsmax.com, a member of the Indian diplomatic delegation invited someone to the Nov. 24 event “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,” Newsmax wrote.
The publication said the man’s presence came to light while the Secret Service was investigating the Salahi incident.
Politico reported on Monday that the party crasher Carlos Allen, a D.C. party promoter, denied attending the dinner.
Politico reported that the Secret Service in a press release on Monday said “the third crasher traveled from a local hotel, where the official Indian delegation was staying, and arrived at the dinner with the group, which was under the responsibility of the State Department. The person went through “all required security measures” along with the rest of the official delegation at the hotel and boarded a bus or a van with the delegation guests to go to the White House. The Secret Service did not identify the third individual.”
“At present, there is nothing to indicate that this individual went through the receiving line or had contact with the president or first lady,” said the Secret Service, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, in Tuesday’s Washington Post, columnist Sally Quinn penned a lengthy column which suggested Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, a long time agent who was appointed to the top spot during the Bush era, step down.
