Salahis to keep mum before Congressional panel

WASHINGTON - Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the infamous celebrity hounding couple who gate crashed a White House dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, won’t be talking when they appear before a Congressional panel next week.

“The gate crashers are invoking the Fifth Amendment, their attorney says, after being subpoenaed to appear at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Jan 20,” the Politico focusing on politics reported.

“They will be there for as long as they are required to be there, but they will repeatedly invoke their Fifth Amendment privileges,” Leslie Maria, a Dewey and LeBoeuf counsel working on the Salahis’ case was quoted as saying.

During congressional hearings, several well-known figures have pleaded the fifth, a US law under which a person cannot be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.

The Salahis failed to appear at a December hearing examining the Secret Service’s role in allowing the Salahis to walk into President Barack Obama’s first state dinner uninvited. White House social secretary Desiree Rogers was also asked to appear at the hearing, but White House officials wouldn’t let her testify.

Meanwhile, the federal grand jury investigating the party-crashing incident has questioned its first White House official, Politico said. White House usher Rear Adm. Stephen Rochon has given testimony about “his interactions

with the Salahis at the state dinner,” it said citing a spokesman.

“We can’t comment further on the ongoing criminal investigation, except to say that we are cooperating fully,” said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro.

The Washington Post has reported that the Salahis demanded to be allowed to leave the event before the sit-down portion of the evening. According to the Post account, the Salahis caused a scene by claiming they had a medical emergency at home. The couple allegedly turned to Rochon for help leaving the White House early.

The White House emphasised that he offered his account of the evening voluntarily. “Nobody in the White House was subpoenaed,” Shapiro was quoted as saying. “Upon request, Adm. Rochon voluntarily agreed to testify about his interactions with the Salahis at the state dinner.”

The White House usher’s job is to oversee the official residence staff and coordinate with the social secretary during ceremonial events.