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StumbleDina Titus: ‘Just a new level of audacity’
Just days after the Salahis crashed a state dinner, a committee in Congress conducts a hearing on the pair
Samantha Appleton / associated press
President Barack Obama greets uninvited guests Michaele and Tareq Salahi, right, at a Nov. 24 White House event.
Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Dina Titus
Sun Archives
- White House party crashers to tell their story (12-1-2009)
- Salahi denies being White House party-crasher (12-1-2009)
- White House: State dinner crashers met Obama (11-27-2009)
Las Vegas is a capital for both parties and party crashers. Entire industries have sprung up on the Strip devoted to the partnership of swanky party places and those who control access beyond the velvet rope.
So when Rep. Dina Titus took her seat Thursday at the Homeland Security Committee hearing on the White House party crashers, she had a few things to say about the case of Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the Virginia couple who slipped into the Obama administration’s first state dinner uninvited.
The Salahis skipped the committee hearing, respectfully declining the invitation to tell how they did what others attempt each night in clubs around the Strip. The White House social secretary also was a no-show, leaving only the head of the Secret Service to tell his side of the story.
But the absence of key players did not dissuade the House panel. One by one, members hurled outrage at the reality-TV-show-wannabes bluffing their way to a handshake with the leader of the free world.
“I’ve never seen this,” said an exasperated Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat.
Republican Rep. Dan Lungren of California called it a “royal screw-up.”
Titus, unlike some other people we now know all too well, is not a line-cutter. She waited her turn to speak. As a new member of the committee, she was among the last.
As the cameras rolled, so did the zingers. It was not lost on the committee that the Obamas were hosting the prime minister of India, whose country had recently been the target of a devastating terrorist attack. That President Barack Obama faces risks himself was clear.
Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama decried the “scary scenario.”
Lawmakers pushed the head of the Secret Service, Mark Sullivan, to finger the culprit.
“Human error,” he said. “Protocol was not adhered to.”
Rep. Jane Harman, the California Democrat who has made a career in national security, suggested the Secret Service might need better technology, noting bar-coded tickets at the recent Bruce Springsteen concert in Washington provided orderly crowd flow.
“I am not suggesting that Christmas at the White House is a Bruce Springsteen concert,” she said. “But I am suggesting there may be more modern techniques.”
The minutes turned into an hour. The panel took a break. Titus had another appointment. She would have to forfeit her turn.
Later, the congresswoman explained what was on her mind.
The security breach, she said, “draws our attention to just a new level of audacity.”
“Even though these people might not have been an immediate threat to the president, their experience highlights what now are possible threats to the White House,” she said.
“People will dress up, go in hot air balloons,” she said, referring to those other aspiring reality TV subjects recently in the news — the balloon boy’s family. “There’s no limit.”
Titus has been nudging the Homeland Security Committee to take a field trip to Las Vegas, to see how casino security forces handle the hangers-on. The committee is considering a trip.
“Maybe the Secret Service, as it revamps its training, has something it could learn from the very, very good private security we have in Nevada,” Titus said.
Asked about her personal thoughts on the Salahis’ escapade, Titus, who is originally from the South, a place where manners matter, said: “That was pretty bold and tacky.”
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That hot blonde Salahis chick can come to my party ANYTIME!!
I'm so happy that things are so good in Congress that they have time to dither with this stuff. Oh, by the way, there are CIA Agents and Navy Seals under indictment by Odumba's attorney general for being mean to terrorists. The world is going crazy.
Ms. Titus should be busying herself with the affairs of Nevada, that need a whole lot of fixin...
Bill Clinton is sitting back somewhere wondering why that chick never crashed his party.
Titus is worried about security? She didn't stop the health bill going through when SAVE was taken out of it. Now any illegal alien can receive benefits. How many millions are we talking about?
NOTE TO environprotector - It's probably the social graces thing, that has detoured the "hot blonde Salahis chick" from appearing on your doorstep. And, oh, please tell us your plan for fixing Nevada's problems that would take decades to fix, thanks to your vote for Gibbons the monkey, and other elected GOP representatives who were busy fooling around with their benefactor$$$ to take care of business, and now either are in jail, or were indicted and kicked out of office. Go figure. But, Titus can only clean up so many messes. And, it would help if you and others would be messes. You can start to help clean up the mess too, by actually reading history, the Federal Register, or something other than Playboy, and voting with a brain for a change.
The question is were they checked for weapons?
Why doesn't the "hot blonde Salahis chick" apply to be a Las Vegas showgirl?
Because she isn't good enough. Starting with her looks.
Dina Titus wants to blame the two people who got in and made complete idiots out of the Democrats. She should be thanking them. For the first time since January, the Democrats are not making idiots out of themselves!
Fellow Doers of Good - (those who voted for Obama) Let me finish this sip of coffee. Now it seems somewhat more clear as to why the 9/11 mass murderers were not caught by those very few excellent FBI agents who several times contacted the head man at Hoover Office Bldg. for permission to question why the reasons for taking straight and level flying lessons in US commerical jets like 757's and 767's. These mass killers paid at private schools to learn, too. They had no interest in takeoffs and landings. Any questions? These terrific FBI agents were refused permission to question these very, very suspicious mid-Easteners. Any questions? They certainly would have prevented 9/11 had they been able to question them and look at some verifications as to why all the addresses, debits, cash and flight lessons spread around thousands of miles apart. Any questions? A real good detective gets onto the crime often prior to its being done as should have the SS, er uh, I mean the Secret Service who should have easily prevented the two party crashers from crashing. Praise the Lord they didn't remove their shoes and throw them at our wonderful President, leading us out of an abyss of hell of the last eight years. Maybe they could have done worse had they been bent upon doing so. All us Americans should be grateful and thankful our President and his guests were only embarrassed and not harmed. This blonde woman was also in a group picture of Washington Redskins Alumine Cheerleaders and of course she never was one. She is a total con and so is the idiot man. Why don't they crash a CriminalBush bash and throw shoes at that bloodthirsty criminal? Now, once again national security seems to be a questionable situation. Let's all hope there are no killers out there taking helicopter lessons who have no interest in learning how to take off or land. Thank You.
I believe that the solution is simple: Hire Willy Wonka! Remember the movie? If you did not have the golden ticket, you were not allowed into the chocolate factory. He did all the security by himself.....simple! No technology required.
Once again, everyone goes for the sizzle and misses the steak. The Salahis didn't testify because they were "invited", not supboenaed, by the committee. Moreover, if they *had* been subpoenaed, any competent lawyer would have advised them to take the Fifth Amendment. Rep. Titus, et al., could have stripped them of this by granting them immunity--which would require them to testify--but that would effectively preclude any criminal prosecution down the road (as we learned in U.S. v. Oliver North). It is also bit rich for the Republicans and Birthers to slam the White House for having their Social Secretary decline an invitation to testify when the Bush White House spent several years ignoring subpoenas for Karl Rove to testify before Congress without consequence. While I personally disagree with the idea that the President's executive privilege extends to every employee in the executive branch, this is hardly a new development.
This is a story about the powerful ruling-class elite being forced to mingle with common people. You and I could try and try to meet with the president or even a top-level advisor for the next 3-7 years and get absolutely nothing. Because the president cannot give his attention to any one person, all persons must be denied access. To do otherwise would be perceived as unfair.
The president can only afford to devote his time to other powerful, elite individuals; corporation, special interest groups, and moneyed lobbyists. This is not about democrats and republicans.
Don't forget Dina Titus is the same person who changed the law to allow the DMV to sell your private information to businesses for commercial purposes! I don't trust her and I don't care what she has to say.
fossimmons where did you get your information that the FBI were refused permission to question the middle easterners? If they were allowed to question them, how would that have prevented the events that took place on 9/11. When did the trial take place that proved who the perpetrators were for the events that took place on 9/11? Any answers?
mamabear : I like your style! your right we all need to start voting with our brains, and perhaps demand accountability from our elected officials like Harry Reid to stop trying to desperately save his job by pushing through this BS healthcare bill, and start doing what we elected him to do, and that is broker big business to come to Nevada with technology and jobs. Do something about the real estate/mortgage lenders who are encouraging home owners with devalued properties to stop paying their monthly payments , and are getting them into a more affordable homes, sticking the banks and you and I the tax payer with the bill.. shall I go on ? I believe that these issues are far more important than our lawmakers spending a day talking about presidential security. We tax payers pay someone else to worry about that! For the record I don't read Playboy, the internet has plenty of beautiful girls to ogle over..send me your picture if you are at least as hot as she is! LOL!
If terrorists can infiltrate 50-something Caucasian U.S. citizens, then we'll never be safe anywhere anytime. Give me a break. I'm glad we're back to pre-9/11 news cycle with bubble boy and dinner crashers. The war on terror is officially over!
They need to hire Jack Baur as chief of security.
This is such a non-event I can't believe anyone is still talking about it. A couple media-whores went to a rubber chicken dinner. *yawn* I mean, really? Maybe this event was special, but it is not that hard to be invited to events where the President appears. Gee... and look how threatening the blonde chick is! (LOL)
If someone really wanted to get this President - or any previous one, they could have just done it.
I think the President is safe from the reality show people. I give them kudos for having the balls to pull that off. I agree with Titus on the "bold" part, but as for it being "tacky", the only thing tacky about it is actually WANTING to be there at such a BS butt-kiss-fest. The secret service should give this couple a medal for exposing holes in their security.
Michaele would benefit from a pair of implants. These two are high society grifters of the worst kind. They should be taken outside, put up against a wall, and uncerremoniously shot.
The Secret Service messed up and they should be ashamed that this happened. They are charged with protecting the President and they failed this time. The pair that pulled it off are not at fault for getting away with it. Party crashers have been around forever. Thankfully they were harmless and as they say no harm no foul. We have to get over it. The politicians need to get on with important issues that effect the country and let the Secret Service fix the problem with their security.
mikegino : I think you have some unresolved anger issues which you need to address.
With all the REAL problems in this nation to actually report on, the Las Vegas Sun runs a report on this! Please guys, try to stick to the news and quit promoting your failed Dina Titus. Dina Titus made a political blunder on Government Health Care which she will be held accountable for by the people. Dumb, extremely dumb! We need with Dina Titus and Shelly Berkley like we need a hole in our head. This was a vote that will NOT be forgotten.