A Secret Service employee stationed at the first checkpoint at the White House state dinner last Tuesday did not verify the names of a couple allowed in even though they were not on the guest list, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News on Friday.
The source also confirmed what two White House staff sources earlier told NBC News, that Tareq and Michaele Salahi were not "waved in" or had their names manually entered into the White House computer to gain entry.
The Secret Service, for its part, said Friday that it might begin a criminal investigation against the Virginia couple.
Agency spokesman Jim Mackin said the possible turn toward criminal charges is one reason the Secret Service has kept mum about what happened when the Salahis arrived at the security checkpoint. They were not on the guest list for the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Nobody disputes that the two, candidates for a reality TV show, were allowed through security. The Secret Service acknowledges that its procedures weren't followed.
Still unknown is the story that the uninvited guests spun to the security officers that persuaded them to allow the couple through. That likely would play a role in any criminal charges.
"As this moves closer to a criminal investigation there's less that we can say," Mackin said. "I don't want to jeopardize what could be a criminal investigation. We're not leaving any option off the table at this point."
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Any couple involved in the "The Real Housewives of D.C." should be jailed on pure principle anyways, IMO.
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