WASHINGTON — The couple who crashed the Obama administration’s first state dinner communicated with a senior Pentagon official about going to the event, but the official denies that she helped the couple get in.
Michele Jones, a special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said in a written statement issued through the White House on Monday evening that she never said or implied she would get Michaele and Tareq Salahi into the Nov. 24 White House dinner.
“I specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admittance or access to any part of the evening’s activities,” Jones said. “Even though I informed them of this, they still decided to come.”
This is the latest twist in the unfolding mystery of how the two reality-show wannabes managed to get into the highly secured event and shake hands with President Barack Obama.
Also on Monday, a House committee chairman asked the couple and Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan to testify at a hearing Thursday on the incident.
The Secret Service declined to comment on whether Sullivan would testify. On Friday, Sullivan issued a statement saying that his agency is “deeply concerned and embarrassed” by the circumstances.
Michaele Salahi is a reality- TV hopeful trying to get on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of D.C.” The couple’s publicist, Mahogany Jones, could not immediately be reached for comment about whether the Salahis would testify Thursday.
