White House Party Crashing 101

Maybe I’m out of the loop, but throughout all of the news coverage regarding the security breach at the While House last week, the one thing I didn’t hear about was---how did the party crashers STORY get out?

Did THEY reveal it—or did someone else?

I know that the Salahi’s posted photos of themselves on Facebook with everyone from Vice President Biden to Katie Couric, but is that unusual? Who wouldn’t showcase their brush with celebrity? The question that now begs to be asked is this: how many times has this happened in the past WITHOUT media discovery?

Probably a lot.

Back in the old days, average Joe Citizen with a gripe or a request for Presidential intervention could just show up at the White House and wait for an audience with the Big Guy. Clearly, those days are over.

Given the dangers of exposing the President and other VIPs in the government to terrorist plots, the curtain of security has been drawn tighter, particularly after 9/11/01. So, exactly how COULD a couple with a craving for attention (and thankfully that’s all) get through what should be the most secure location in the world?

Success (however devious) leaves clues, and here are the ones we know about:

1) Dress impeccably.
2) Arrive as a couple-the fact that one of you is a striking blonde will not hurt either
3) Arrive in a limousine.
4) Smile and appear relaxed and bewildered when the guard says he doesn’t see your names on the guest list
5) Having a foreign name at a State Dinner where a Indian Prime Minister is the Guest of Honor may have been a plus too, as avoiding an unintentional slight or desire to avert an “international incident” may have played into the whole “let’s allow the NEXT guy in the security line to turn them away”.

Here’s the AP video report on the party crashers:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g44_MTMH4oA

Since the discovery, it is a given that:

A) Someone (maybe several people) will lose their jobs. There will be a fall-guy--or guys, whether some of those people deserve it or not.
B) Life for everyone in the Secret Service has been and will continue to be HELL as Congress now has threatened an “investigation”

Imaginations have understandably gone WILD with what could have happened-while it’s unlikely that either of the party crashers could have smuggled a conventional weapon into the receiving line, everything from a broken glass to a pin-prick with a deadly virus are possibilities not to be dismissed.

All of this blame lands squarely on the Secret Service. Of course, there are many calling for prosecution of the uninvited guests themselves. I have mixed feelings on this. While doing so could provide a deterrent to future party-crashers—setting them up as an example, I have difficulty in articulating a charge that could lead to a conviction.

Would it be “deception by tuxedo/evening gown?” Trespassing? Making these two “martyrs” would likely elicit more attention-the very thing they desire.

Better to let this go the way of “Balloon Boy” and his family—namely, let it fade from the front page naturally and be grateful that this intrusion was non-threatening. Use it to shore up security and prevent future incidents that could be sinister in nature.

Someday, we could be thanking the Salahi’s for exposing a chink in the White House armor that could save us from a disaster.

If you’d like my weekday blog to “crash” into your in-box (not uninvited, of course) just drop me a line—and I will clear you through security myself: tim.moore@citcomm.com