Want To Buy A Salahi Photo?

Article from Radar Online.

Real Housewives of D.C. stars Michaele and Tareq Salahi have figured out a way to pay off some of their debt without actually forking over any money.


Photo: Pacific Coast News



Brotman-Winter-Fried Communications -- who provided public relations for the Salahis polo events -- sued the couple for $20,000 owed for services rendered and won, but haven't been paid.

RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively that a deal had to be cultivated for payment because the Salahis are broke.

Sources close to the situation said that "after looking over the couple's assets it was determined they couldn't afford to pay their debt."

As a result, the Salahis signed 200 photographs of themselves pictured at the White House which are going to be "auctioned off on eBay for $100 each in an effort to get the $20,000 owed."

The deal was penned this week at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia and as a gesture of Michaele recently revealing her 17-year struggle with multiple sclerosis the communications firm will be donating 10 percent of the funds raised to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

For those interested in purchasing a photo can visit SalahiPhoto.com, which has been set up to help promote the photographs.

Michaele On Today Show

Picture from Michaele.

Dear friends, I am honored to be co-hosting the NBC Today Show 10 O’clock hour with Kathie Lee Gifford & Hoda Kotb on Friday from 10am to 11am. Please tune in for an hour of fun with us! We are going to Rock it!! OXO ps: More fun to come later today! ;)

Half Yard Is Looking For A "Bitchy" Replacement

Post from Thaindian News.

New York, Sept 21 (ANI): Michaele Salahi won’t return as a star on ‘Real Housewives of D.C,’ according to sources.

A source has revealed that Salahi won’t repeat as a star to the show if it is renewed for a second season.

Half Yard Productions, a Bravo subcontractor, is hunting for a “bitchy” replacement for the housewife.

Bravo reps are annoyed with the duo for saying the network has held them back from coming clean.

“The notion that the Salahis have been barred under their contracts . . . from speaking . . . is simply not true,” the New York Post quoted Bravo as saying.

Castmates aren’t thrilled with Michaele either. Lynda Erkiletian and Paul Wharton complained to friends at Peacock Cafe in Georgetown last week about the couple’s publicity stunts.

Salahi Widget

Salahi Wedding

Video From The Oasis Wedding.

Michaele And Tareq On Elliot In The Morning

Catherine Unsure About Michaele Having MS

Article from DBKP.

By LBG1

During an appearance on Watch What Happens L!ve with Andy Cohen guest Cat Ommanney said her book Inbox Full will be out in December. Cat appeared with Real Housewives of New York City’s Ramona Singer. Ramona told Andy she hadn’t seen cast member Kelly Bensimon this summer. Ramona had been with LuAnn de Lesseps the ‘night before’ and had spoken with Jill Zarin yesterday on the phone. When Andy asked Ramona would what happen if former Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Danielle Staub were to become a cast member of RHONYC, Ramona said she’d ‘go on strike’.


Photo:Jamie Windon

Cat’s appearance on WWHL, after her divorce from Newsweek photographer Charles Ommanney. Cat not very complimentary about the New York Times article about Charles, The ‘Housewives’ Husband Who Wishes He Said No. Cat, on the internet rumors about her ‘past’ in the U.K.–Andy Cohen referred to Tiger Woods’ mistress Rachel Uchitel–Cat claiming that while she doesn’t read the ‘blogs’, the rumors were from an individual Cat knew. When Andy asked Cat about the news Michaele Salahi has MS and whether Cat believed Michaele had MS, Cat implied she was cautionary about Michaele’s claim. Cat, telling Andy, Diane Dimond, the author of the new Salahi book, Cirque Du Salahi, was paying the Salahi’s bills.

Yesterday the site Popeater reported Bravo had booted Michaele and Tareq Salahi from the next season of RHODC. Popeater’s Rob Shuter posting Bravo “had had it” with the Salahi’s:
Michaele and Tareq Salahi’s fifteen minutes of fame may be up now that I’ve learned publicly-annoyed Bravo has decided not to invite the White House party crashers back to tape another season of ‘The Real Housewives Of DC.’

“The DC show is the only show in the entire franchise that isn’t a true hit,” an insider tells me. “And the Salahi’s are the biggest reason for that. At first, execs thought they struck gold with all the attention the couple got over the White House dinner. But now they realize not all press is good press and this couple’s involvement in the show has turned more viewers off than on.”

According to Shuter, the Salahi last straw that broke Bravo’s back, a statement made by the Salahi’s in Dimond’s book:

But the final straw came to light just this week, when the couple claimed (in a new book about them) that their “iron-clad” contract with Bravo doesn’t allow them to talk about the White House-crashing incident to the media. Of course, they’ve never been shy about talking-up the scandal (except for when Tareq clammed up at a Congressional hearing!) and famously spoke to Matt Lauer about it just days after the State Dinner.

Popeater reported on Tuesday they’d received a press release from Bravo:

“From the time of the incident until now, Bravo and Half Yard Productions, the producer of the series, have consistently and repeatedly stated to the Salahis and their representatives that they were free to speak to press, law enforcement, Congress and anyone else about attending the State Dinner. Indeed, they have given multiple press interviews on that very subject.”

What’s unusual about the Popeater report, Bravo’s previous pattern of not issuing statements about cast members, especially those who are sent packing by Bravo. In comparison, the rumor Bravo had fired Danielle Staub, leaked by Bravo insiders to the site, Life & Style. The Danielle Staub won’t be returning to season three of RHONJ, leaked after Danielle taped the second season reunion episode. Bravo issuing a casual note on their BravoTV.com site under the “News” section, the reunion episode was Danielle’s last appearance on RHONJ, posted after part two of the RHONJ reunion episode aired. The Bravo insider news the Salahi’s won’t be back, leaked before the taping of the Real Housewives of DC reunion episode.

Was the info leaked before Michaele announced her “secret” she had multiple sclerosis?
The Washington Post’s Lisa de Moraes made the following observation about Michaele’s ‘announcement’ she had MS:

For the rest of the show’s run, any time another cast member comments about how thin Michaele is — it’s been one of the leitmotifs of this edition in the “Real Housewives” franchise — or rolls their eyes at something Michaele says or does, or says they don’t want Michaele invited to their Fill In The Blank — both that Other Housewife and Bravo are going to look really, really cold.

Lisa de Moraes reported Bravo’s response to Michaele’s MS news, a Bravo Senior VP of Communications telling the Washington Post, Michaele never mentioned to Bravo she had MS.

The Popeater post, Bravo plans on not asking the Salahi’s to return next season, published Wednesday at 7:22 AM EST. No mention in the article of Michaele’s ‘major announcement’ on FOX and Friends, Michaele had MS. FOX and Friends, airing at 6 AM, EST. Later that day, Lisa de Moraes’ article on Michaele’s announcement and the report Bravo had issued a press statement about the Salahi’s statement in the book. A statement very similar to the one posted by Popeater:

“The notion that the Salahis have been barred under their contracts relating to ‘The Real Housewives of D.C.’ from speaking about their attendance at the White House State Dinner is simply not true. From the time of the incident until now, Bravo and Half Yard Productions, the producer of the series, have consistently and repeatedly stated to the Salahis and their representatives that they were free to speak to press, law enforcement, Congress and anyone else about attending the State Dinner. Indeed, they have given multiple press interviews on that very subject.”

de Moraes’ article included what Dianne Dimond said on FOX and Friends about Michaele’s cast members picking on Michaele in the first season of RHODC. After reading what Dimond said, interjecting Michaele’s multiple sclerosis as an excuse to chastise the cast members who ‘picked on’ Michaele, Dianne Dimond needs to have her head examined. de Moraes observation, Michaele and Tareq effectively tarred her cast members as “really, really cold” in still unaired episodes. With the news from Popeater, Bravo potentially painted as a cold-hearted villain, booting a victim of multiple sclerosis off one of their reality housewives shows.

Tareq Uses Fictitious Names For Business?

Article from Radar Online.

Real Housewives of D.C. star and notorious White House 'gatecrasher' Tareq Salahi uses fictitious names for various business deals, according to his former limo driver.

The chauffeur, Gregory Wooddell, told RadarOnline.com that the aliases have caught the attention of the United States Secret Service, who has been investigating Tareq even before he and wife Michaele allegedly crashed the White House state dinner.

"I was interviewed by the Secret Service and the FBI long before the whole White House crashing thing," Wooddell said in an exclusive interview.

"It's even freakier to think that they got in while being investigated."

Wooddell revealed he is aware of three names that Tareq allegedy uses: David Mortz, Roger Stern and Kevin Bradley.

"One time Tareq ordered a forklift we needed under the name Kevin Bradley," Wooddell claimed.

"The Secret Service asked for a copy of the receipt from me as part of their investigation because it was in Kevin's name. I have no idea how Tareq paid for things under different names like that."

David Mortz is an apparent online identity used on a polo website with a profile that regularly promotes the Salahis by posting photographs of them and their events.
There are no photos of Mortz himself.

Mortz also has a Facebook account, although again, there is no photo of this mysterious individual; however, Mortz lists the Real Housewives Of D.C. as his only like and interest.
Interestingly, the name Roger Stern -- who is said to be the commissioner of the National Polo League -- appears to be a combination of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NBA commissioner David Stern.

"Tareq has also made up affidavits from fake identities to win court cases," Wooddell alleged, noting two cases.
"Sometimes at the winery they'd use helicopters for events and someone filed a noise complaint. Tareq showed up at court with a bunch of affidavits from fake people saying they'd never seen helicopters in the area and the court believed him!"

Wooddell said the Salahis sued a venue where they'd held a polo event, claiming the power and the generators went out, thus ruining their occassion.
He claimed, "They asked a friend of theirs to lie on their behalf and testify in court for them. When she said no, they brought in a bunch of fake affidavits and won their case."

Multiple source have confirmed to RadarOnline.com the use of Tareq's aliases.
"They're notorious in D.C. circles for it," said one source.
Claimed Wooddell: "I think they're starting to stray from reality completely and beginning to believe their own lies."
He said that although he was interviewed by the Secret Service and the FBI, he was not asked to testify in front of the still active grand jury investigation into the Salahis 'gatecrashing' incident at the November 2009 White House state dinner.

To the embarrassment of the Secret Service, the Salahis shook hands with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, without having a formal invitation.
"I think they only subpoenaed those that were around them the day they crashed the White House," Wooddell said.

The Salahi's former publicist, Mahogany Jones, told RadarOnline.com she too had "heard rumors of that" (aliases) but noted she hadn't "had any personal encounters of him using an alias."

When contacted by RadarOnline.com, the Secret Service declined to comment on its investigations of the Salahis.

Tareq refused to comment in depth when contacted by RadarOnline.com but promised "the real story is coming out" -- a reference to the impending release of their tell-all book about the event.

Michaele And Tareq On Extra

Tim Gunn Calls The Salahis "Sociopaths" And They Respond

The Salahis Turn Real Housewives Viewers Off

Post from Perez Hilton.


We hate to say it, but it's probably for the best!

These two don't need any more attention than they already have!


Photo: Andrew Thayer



Bravo has apparently had enough of Tareq and Michaele Salahi's delusional levels of crazy, and according to insiders, will not be inviting the couple back for the second season of The Real Housewives of D.C.!

Sources explain:

"The DC show is the only show in the entire franchise that isn't a true hit. And the Salahi's are the biggest reason for that. At first, execs thought they struck gold with all the attention the couple got over the White House dinner. But now they realize not all press is good press and this couple's involvement in the show has turned more viewers off than on."

Apparently, the tipping point for Bravo came when the Salahi's attempted to blame them for banning them from speaking about the White House gatecrashing incident, which has been vehemently denied by the network in a statement released yesterday.

They also allegedly refused to attend the Housewives of D.C. launch party, and then hosted a competing party the same night!

WTF is wrong with these people?

A fellow castmate reveals:
"At this point, they are an embarrassment to the 'Housewife' franchise. They are a loose cannon. Now, Michaele has revealed she has multiple sclerosis; next she'll be announcing she is pregnant with triplets to get attention."
Unreal. We truly hope that her announcement regarding the disease yesterday is not fabricated. Anyone who would lie about having something as serious as multiple sclerosis just for press is seriously deranged.

We have a sinking feeling that these two are going to be caught in a lot more lies soon enough.

The Salahis Have Not Been Exonerated In The White House Incident

Article from Radar Online.

A federal grand jury investigating White House 'gatecrashers' Tareq and Michaele Salahi has twice interviewed their former publicist, RadarOnline.com has learned.

"I was very close to this situation," Mahogany Jones told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview.
"I've appeared in front of the grand jury (but) I can't say too much about it."

While criminal charges against the pair still have not been ruled out, the Salahis laywer, Lisa Bloom, recently told CNN the couple "are innocent" of crashing the White House.

The Salahis "were not on one list, but they were on two other lists", she added.

The Salahis are also behind a new book by journalist Diane Dimond to tell "the never before revealed details of what happened before, during and after" their November 2009 'crashing' at the Obama administration's first state dinner.
To the embarrassment of the Secret Service, the Salahis shook hands with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, without having a formal invitation.

Jones, who was hired by the Salahis in 2009 after the couple was cast on Bravo's Real Housewives of D.C., refused to be interviewed for Dimond's tell-all; but in her first in-depth interview, the public relations advisor told RadarOnline.com the notorious socialites could face further legal ramifications.

"That's what they're portraying it to be, that they're exonerated," Jones said. "That's the whole falsehood."

She added, "From my perspective -- and I'm not legal counsel or anything like that -- [but] I believe there will be some action."
Jones resigned in May because her former clients were "rogue" and "completely uncontrollable."

While she wouldn't elaborate on what she told the jury under oath, Jones recounted for the first time, how Tareq and Michaele told a television producer President Obama "personally invited" them to his first state dinner.
She said a producer of the D.C. franchise enquired about seeking media credentials for the event.

"According to them, they were told by the Salahis that they were personally invited by the Obamas to go to this dinner," Jones told RadarOnline.com.
"That was odd to me, if you're calling asking me to assist in trying to get you attendance to the dinner and then someone else tells me they're already invited.

"Knowing the Salahis and their ways, a lie, or two lies, is not unreasonable for them."
Despite that claim, Jones recalled how the Salahis asked her to put them in contact with top Pentagon official Michelle S. Jones, a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense, in a bid to have them invited to President Obama's first state dinner.
Jones recalled, "Tareq had called me and said to me, 'We're trying to get in touch with Michelle Jones, is there anything that you can do to help us get in contact with her?'
"I told Tareq, 'There's nothing I can do to connect you all.'
"In my view, by the Salahis asking me, they didn't have an invitation. But I knew they were resourceful people."

Michelle Jones, who serves as the Pentagon's White House liaison, has flatly denied she promised the pair admittance.
E-mails between the Salahis and Michelle Jones indicate the official was trying to get them in to the White House event, but did not succeed.
In the last email from Jones, sent at 8:46 a.m., Nov. 24, she said she still had not gotten them tickets.

Yet in an email sent at 1:03 a.m., Nov. 25, the Salahis wrote that they did not get that phone message from Jones because their "cell phone battery died early this evening while we were in D.C. from our country home."

They wrote, "We ended up going to the gate to check in at 6:30 p.m. to just check, in case it got approved, since we didn't know, and our name was indeed on the list!"
The Salahis former staffer told RadarOnline.com, "That was odd to me because why would they need assistance from Michelle Jones when they supposedly had other connections within the White House.

"Those types of questions have come into my mind, but I didn't question it at the time."

Jones said the couple "are completely manipulative", and suggested their bold behavior was a ploy to attract attention for the Bravo program.

"I wouldn't put it passed them," Jones said.
"It's like Balloon Boy... I guess in their mind, this thing would have been the biggest thing on the show and would have brought ratings and everything."
"They're completely savvy about getting what they want or making people see them as they want them to be seen; they'll do things or say things so they can get their way and I think that's how they've gone through life."
Bloom, attorney for the Salahis, has said Jones is bad-mouthing the couple because she hasn't been paid for her services.
Of that claim, Jones told RadarOnline.com, "I'm not the only one who they owe money to... I need to stand in line."

Clip Of Salahis On ET

Post and Clip from ET online.

Dubbed "the White House party crashers," Tareq and Michaele Salahi speak out to Diane Dimond about her secret illness.

She claims her rail thin figure -- criticized by her "The Real Housewives of D.C." castmates and the subject of eating disorder speculations -- is actually a result of multiple sclerosis.

Coming out publicly, she says, is "very hard, but at the same time very liberating. I feel I can do something really good now. After the White House, I didn't understand all that was happening. My life became this media spin. I thought maybe this is here to push me to become someone ... showing that you can live a healthy, productive life."

She says she's kept her battle with MS a secret for 17 years. "It's hard to even get the words out," she adds.

Of their now infamous trip to the White House, Tareq stands by his assertion that they didn't crash the party, saying, "If you're going to crash the White House, you're not going to inform the DNC chairman that we're heading to the White House, hope to see you there in a couple days."

In other news, Michaele confirms to ET that she has been contacted by Playboy, "I'm flattered and honored that Hugh Hefner would consider me." When asked if she will pose for the magazine, she smiles and says, "Watch and see what happens!"

The couple further details Michaele's illness, as well as what happened after their appearance at the White House state dinner in Diane's new book Cirque Du Salahi: Be Careful Who You Trust -- now available on Amazon.com.

Salahi Book Describes Them As Social Climbers

Article from Yahoo News.

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer
Michaele Salahi, who gained notoriety with her husband by crashing a glitzy White House state dinner, says in a new book that she suffers from multiple sclerosis, a potentially debilitating disease that she says she has kept secret for years.

Salahi says a bad spell the night of the White House dinner caused the couple to leave the event early.

Billed as a tell-all book written with the couple's cooperation, "Cirque Du Salahi" by Diane Dimond offers little new information about the incident last year that sparked a high-profile government criminal investigation and made the couple minor celebrities. The title plays on the name of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil, the "Circus of the Sun."

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the book in advance of its sale Wednesday.
Multiple sclerosis, Salahi says, explains her rail-thin physique. She rejects suggestions by others that she suffers from an eating disorder. She is described in the book as eating sugary cereal for Thanksgiving and not eating or drinking even water for long periods of a day.

Weight loss is not a typical symptom of MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Salahi, now 44 and a central figure on Bravo's reality show "Real Housewives of D.C.," was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 28, according to the book. Her symptoms include tingling sensations and exhaustion, especially in stressful situations. One such spell caused the Salahis to leave early from the White House dinner that the couple continues to insist they were invited to attend.

In the book, both Salahi and her husband, Tareq, describe brief conversations with President Barack Obama that evening.

The Salahis arrived at the White House with a camera crew filming footage for the reality show that aired eight months later. But they were not on any of the guest lists and did not receive the typical engraved invitation to the exclusive event. That the Salahis were able to get into the White House and so close to the president without being on a guest list prompted changes to security policies, the punishment of three Secret Service officers and a criminal investigation that hasn't yet led to charges.

The book's author cites contemporaneous e-mail exchanges about their efforts to get into the event at the last minute. But she also writes critically about other aspects of the Salahis' lives and business dealings. "They may have been downright duplicitous," Dimond writes.

The author found no evidence, for example, to corroborate Salahi's claim that she was a Washington Redskins cheerleader.

"I have to conclude that Michaele Holt Salahi made up the story of having been a Redskins cheerleader ... and once caught in the lie she responded by confronting those who questioned her with more lies," Dimond writes. "It raised the question, What else might she have been less than truthful about?"

Elsewhere in the book, Neal Schon, the lead guitarist for the rock group Journey, would not confirm in the book that he and Salahi once had a relationship that Salahi described as "intimate" and "passionate." On her "Real Housewives" blog, Salahi says she is working on a secret song with Schon. Schon did not respond to a message sent through his Facebook page, but he lists the Salahis among his friends.

The book describes the Salahis as a social-climbing couple with a history of charitable contributions and a "mound of outstanding debt" who have been wrongly accused in the White House dinner incident by the government and the media.

The 255-page book, published by Amazon, goes on sale Wednesday for $15.99.

Bravo Did Not Gag Michaele And Tareq From Talking About The WH Dinner

Article from Zap2It.

By Jethro Nededog
It's very seldom that Bravo breaks its usual wall of silence when it comes to news items, especially when it comes to the "Real Housewives" franchise.

Something, though, has pushed the right buttons. Michaele and Tareq Salahi's book, "Cirque du Salahi" was released along with allegations from its author.

"On attorney's advice, and because of their 'iron-clad' contracts with Bravo," the book's author, Diane Dimond, says. "The Salahis felt they could not defend themselves -- not even when called before a committee of the United States Congress. Only now, that the danger of a possible federal indictment has faded with time, do they feel they can tell their side of the story."

In response, the network issued a statement Wednesday (Sept. 15) saying, "The notion that the Salahis have been barred under their contracts relating to "The Real Housewives of D.C." from speaking about their attendance at the White House State Dinner is simply not true."

It continues, "From the time of the incident until now, Bravo and Half Yard Productions, the producer of the series, have consistently and repeatedly stated to the Salahis and their representatives that they were free to speak to press, law enforcement, Congress and anyone else about attending the State Dinner. Indeed, they have given multiple press interviews on that very subject."

We can understand why Bravo would want to make their stand on this very clear. If it were true, it could be considered interfering with a federal investigation. But in fact, the couple have spoken to several press outlets about the alleged gate-crashing, including HBO's "Real Sports," the "Today" show, and Zap2it.

"We were invited. We gave our I.D.'s. They announced our names. We were happy to be there," Michaele Salahi told us in a video interview.

Do you think the Salahis are throwing the network under the bus to sell books?

Mary was "Completely Blindsided" By Salahis

Article from People.


Mary Schmidt Amons wasn’t trying to provoke Tareq Salahi at the awkward dinner party depicted on Thursday’s Real Housewives of D.C.. She just sensed he had something to say to her.

“It was clear that Tareq [Salahi] was overserved and he had something that he was uncomfortable with that he wanted to address with me,” Amons tells PEOPLE on Friday, on the phone from airport in Los Angeles. “I just kept feeling this awkward conversation — this mumbling under his breath.”

So, when he did finally come out with it — accusing her daughter Lolly and her friends of stealing his car and polo gear, then trumpeting their crime on Facebook — the reality star says she was “completely blindsided.”

“I had no clue about what he was accusing her of — and no clue of what actually transpired,” she says now. “He was very unclear about what actually happened. Car theft? Gear? It was just mind-boggling for me, and I was completely dumbfounded.”

But she and her husband Rich started investigating and quickly found that there was no police investigation, no FBI investigation nor any truth to Tareq and Michaele Salahi‘s accusations. So, what did Amons daughter do?
“Lolly has a friend that was [photographed] at a club that had a polo helmet on,” she says. “And she made a comment [on Facebook] that said, ‘How are you having so much fun without me?’”

After determining that her daughter had nothing to do with the alleged crime, Amons said they decided as a family to forget about it — and not to confront the Salahis.

“I think they like to create drama so they can deflect their own drama,” she says, explaining that any confrontation would have just escalated things further. “They create scenarios that will cause attention to other people.”

In light of the drama, does the newly-minted reality star have any regrets about putting her family on television?

“Lolly has moved on from this,” Amons says. “It’s been upsetting and we’ve moved past it … so we’re all having a rough couple of days here. But the truth is out there now. This is the most disturbing thing [to happen to us] … Overall, I think we look great. We’re relatable. I think we’re funny.”

Michaele And Tareq Appear On Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell

The Salahis Blindly Trusted The Wrong People

Article from The Huffington Post.


By:Diane Dimond
I took some time off my regular schedule to write a book. It's all about how we as a society have abrogated our opinion-making and handed it over to whatever media we follow.

Photo: Getty Images

For some people these days it takes too much time and effort to engage in critical thinking. But what if the media is just playing follow the leader - parroting each other and not really checking out the facts? It happens all the time and now more than ever we need to use our common sense to help lead us to the truth.

My new book is about the couple the media branded "The White House Gate Crashers," Michaele and Tareq Salahi. The name of it is "Cirque du Salahi - Be Careful Who You Trust" and I don't mention it here as just a shameless plug for my own work. I mention is because Cirque - or circus - perfectly describes the information superhighway traveling into our homes every minute of every day. It has become a circus of truths, half-truthful exaggerations and downright lies. Many of us gobble it up without stopping to think what we're digesting.

Let's analyze the nickname the press gave the Salahis just hours after they appeared at President Obama's first state dinner on November 24, 2009: "The White House Gate Crashers." But, whoa! Stop and think about that a minute.

Nobody "crashes" the gate at the White House, for goodness sakes! The place is ringed with armed guards and a massive security net. So why would the media say that - over and over before any real facts were known? Because it's catchy and it fits into today's terrorist watch mentality. Salahi - why it even sounds like a suspect Middle Eastern name!

The Salahis decided to open up to one person - me - and to tell their whole story. During my investigation I got to dissect all their e-mails with a White House representative who promised to try to get them in to the event. I discovered the Salahis honestly believed they were invited to the welcoming ceremony for the Prime Minister of India. I learned that once they arrived at the White House they presented their passports to not one - but two - Secret Service checkpoints and they were waved right in. Once inside the grand reception hall staff ushered them through the official receiving line and then into the lavish dinner tent set up on the South Lawn.

Now, what part of that sounds like a "gate crashing" to you? That's right - none of it. Yet to this day most media continue to refer to the Salahis as "crashers" and remind the public that federal charges are still a possibility. Ridiculous.

The Salahis immediately cooperated with federal investigators who learned the details I've just outlined for you - and much more. Yet those investigators apparently didn't pass the word on to the Congressional Homeland Security Committee. Even before the hearing members publicly vilified the Salahis. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee called them, "the perpetrators." Her colleague, Eleanor Holmes Norton declared, "Clearly they were outlaws before they crashed the White House." So when the couple was subpoenaed to appear before the committee there is there any wonder why they exercised their constitutional right to remain silent? With the deck already stacked against them they had no choice but to take their lawyer's advice and plead the fifth. Your lawyer would tell you to do the same.

It was a shameful kangaroo court proceeding conducted by the Congressional panel that's supposed to be concentrating on ways to keep the country safe in this post 9-11 atmosphere. Instead, the politicians were more interested in getting face time on TV while the story was still hot.

The Salahis are not like you and me. Months before the White House event they were cast as members on a "reality" TV show. An odd move, in my book, but being odd is not against the law in America. They owe money to multiple creditors but how many other citizens have gotten caught up in this bad economy? Their worst luck was to become the target in this new era of lock-and-load journalism. The media decides who the focus is and relentlessly zero in.

The Salahis biggest transgression may have been that they blindly trusted too many people. Their own entertainment lawyer paved the way to the White House state dinner then dropped them like a bag of toxic waste after the scandal broke. They trusted federal investigators would help clear their name. They trusted that the justice system and the federal grand jury hearing their evidence would exonerate them. They trusted that the media would ultimately get the story straight. But here we are almost a year later and the Salahis are still twisting in the wind.

Too many of today's professional journalists, augmented by mostly inexperienced internet bloggers, are all too eager to jump on the story-du-jour for fear of being left behind. Too bad they don't take the time to research facts before parroting what others have reported before them.

Be careful who you trust.

Michaele's Sari Could Sell For Three Grand

Aricle from the Washington Post. Pictures from TMZ.

By Amy Argetsinger
For months, White House gate-crasher-turned-reality star Michaele Salahi has been promising reporters that she would auction her infamous red-and-gold sari for charity -- and, well, darned if she's not actually doing it now. For real!

The Potomack Co., an Old Town Alexandria auction house, announced Friday that it will put the dress on the block Oct. 2. and that Salahi and her husband, Tareq, "have directed the auction gallery to forward 80 percent of their proceeds from the gown's sale to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund," and a yet-to-be-named local charity.

The dress -- technically not a sari but a two-piece style known as a lengha -- was rendered instantly iconic in November when Salahi wore it into the White House state dinner for India without an actual invitation, exposing a major weakness in President Obama's security perimeter.

But how iconic? The Potomack Co.'s Lucie Holland said the auction house estimates that it could fetch $2,000 to $3,000. "Our estimates are conservative," she said. "We hope to generate interest." Yet it probably won't land in the stratosphere of recently auctioned gowns worn by Princess Diana or Marilyn Monroe.

Those who love to hate the controversial couple -- who seem to have gotten stuck in the villain roles on "The Real Housewives of D.C." -- will either be gratified that the Salahis won't profit heavily after the charity donation or dismayed that the sale will do little to help the long line of vendors and creditors who say the Salahis owe them. The dress will probably be the first lot on a sale day that will also feature a collection of Asian art and furniture from a historic Alexandria home.

Holland said the dress "is in beautiful condition." She lifted the dress -- tulle with gold beading and sequins -- and "it's very heavy, actually. It's quite substantial."

Mary Does Not Talk To The Salahi's

Post from Radar Online.

Photo: Andrew Thayer

Tensions, tears — and Tareq — will dominate next Thursday’s episode of the hit Bravo reality show Real Housewives of D.C.

In a teaser of episode five, the popular and classy cast-mate Mary Schmidt Amons breaks down in tears while at dinner at Tareq and Michaele Salahi’s now defunct winery in Virginia.

Now RadarOnline.com can reveal the source of the high drama and why it has driven a major divide between the women of the series and the notorious White House ‘gatecrashers’.

In the episode to air Thursday, Tareq accuses one of Mary’s daughters of being linked to the theft of his personal belongings — polo gear — a claim the Washingtonian woman emphatically denies.

“It was very upsetting and disturbing to have your daughter falsely accused of something,” Mary told RadarOnline.com, in an exclusive interview.

“What was so upsetting, they actually don’t accuse her any crime, but being friends with someone who wronged them. She made a Facebook comment about whatever happened — it was a benign comment, which you will see.

“But it triggered a stomach-turning gut reaction because, in my opinion, this is stooping to the lowest of lows.

“I don’t care if it was true or not, but the fact that these people decided to bring something up that ‘apparently’ occurred years ago and to link to my daughter, I think was unfair.

“To put this on national television speaks to their character.”

While the Salahis seem to feed off of their infamy, their behavior has ostracized Mary and their co-stars Lynda Erkiletian, Catherine Ommanney and Stacie Scott Turner.

“I am still very close friends with Cat, Lynda and Stacie; we have developed quite the little bond,” Mary dished to RadarOnline.com.

“Going through what we have this last year will either bring you together or drive you apart.”

Asked if she still hangs out with the Salahis, Mary laughed, "No."