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Tareq Salahi and his wife Michaele Salahi arrive for a state dinner at the White House - Source: Reuters -
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An investigation is underway after a couple from Virginia gatecrashed a White House state dinner held by United States President Barack Obama.
The Secret Service says it is conducting a comprehensive review
of the security breach on Tuesday at the dinner in honour of Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Washington Post first reported Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who
were not on the official guest list, attended the White House party
but were never seated at a table in the South Lawn tent where the
dinner was held.
The White House has asked the Secret Service for a full review.
"An initial finding has identified one of our checkpoints that did not follow proper procedures to ensure that the two individuals that were named in the Washington Post story were on the invited guests list," says Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan.
But he says no one at the dinner was ever in any danger.
"I want to stress that these individuals went through magnetometers
and several other levels of screenings just as all of the guests
attending the dinner did," he says.
"We don't rely on just magnetometers or the level of
screenings.
"That's why we have the agents with our protectees at all times
times."
The couple, described by The Washington Post as aspiring reality-TV
stars and polo-playing socialites, were seen arriving at the White
House.
According to the Post, the uninvited guests were in the same room
as the Obamas and Prime Minister Singh, but it is not known if they
met.
A dozen pictures posted on Facebook show the couple posing with
dinner guests including Vice President Joe Biden, Washington Mayor
Adrian Fenty, CBS News anchor Katie Couric, and White House Chief
of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
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