# Is there any law under which the White House dinner party crashers could be prosecuted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105 "2009-11-27T06:29:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/1 "2009-11-27T06:29:16Z")
Per these attention whoring jackasses is there any law under which these reality show whores could be prosecuted for crashing a state dinner? [Story here](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/25/AR2009112504113.html) [Video here](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34166124#34166124) > [@](#): > > A couple of aspiring reality-TV stars from Northern Virginia appear to have crashed the White House’s state dinner Tuesday night, penetrating layers of security with no invitation to mingle with the likes of Vice President Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. > > Tareq and Michaele Salahi – polo-playing socialites known for a bitter family feud over a Fauquier County winery and their possible roles in the forthcoming “The Real Housewives of Washington” – were seen arriving at the White House and later posted on Facebook photos of themselves with VIPs at the elite gathering. > > “Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!” one of them wrote on their joint Facebook page at 9:08 p.m. > > But a White House official said the couple were not invited to the dinner, not included on the official guest list and never seated at a table in the South Lawn tent. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/2 "2009-11-27T07:26:19Z")
The article that I read said they could be charged with criminal trespass. I don’t think that would stick though. If you have a party and don’t invite me, but I show up anyway, knock on the door and you let me in (after passing me through metal detectors and searching me for weapons), there’s no trespass. You invited me in, as opposed to turning me away. I don’t see how it would be any different at the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/3 "2009-11-27T09:23:59Z")
How the frick do you get that far past the SS? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/4 "2009-11-27T10:00:18Z")
If they lied to a Federal official to get in, that could be a felony. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/5 "2009-11-27T13:32:46Z")
Whether or not they were seated at a table, I’m also curious how they get past security without being on any kind of guest list. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/6 "2009-11-27T13:45:12Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > How the frick do you get that far past the SS? As someone who used to lig into posh events in Hong Kong, the trick is to look super-confident and rich, and wear nice clothes. Could be worse though: at least they weren’t dressed as [Osama Bin Laden](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/party-gatecrasher-was-the-second-lapse-in-royal-security-in-six-months-report-reveals-535932.html). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/7 "2009-11-27T14:43:20Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > As someone who used to lig into posh events in Hong Kong, the trick is to look super-confident and rich, and wear nice clothes. Yep. Think about it, it’s not often that VIPs (who are meant to be there) get turned away by security - when it does happen, it often makes the paper as a “Haha, these dumb security guys” kind of story. Security aren’t going to know all the people by sight who are meant to be there, and if someone’s face fits, then chances are they’ll get through because none of the doormen wants to be the goof that challenged that famous guy… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/8 "2009-11-27T15:35:58Z")
Yes. You need to tip the balance in the security guard’s mind: 1. Letting in the wrong person and there being long-term almighty hell, firnings, and media scrutiny _vs_ 2. Not letting in the right person and putting up with a huge amount of immediate crap from VIPs and the people who invited them Many VIPs act like utter douches, and the hosts are also likely to go batshit if a genuine guest is barred from entry. Thus the more you look like the right person, the more likely the security guard is to fear situation #2 and avoid it, rather than avoid situation #1, which is also less likely in the long run. The people who run the security therefore need to make the entry process as watertight as possible so the individual guard fears situation #1 more than #2. It’s all great fun. My best lig was getting into a Louis Vuitton launch dinner, drinking champagne and eating caviar while watching Maxim Vengerov perform - I even got to touch his strad, and they gave me a celebrity goodie bag full of LV stuff and a Vengerov CD as I left. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/9 "2009-11-27T15:57:43Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > My best lig was getting into a Louis Vuitton launch dinner, drinking champagne and eating caviar while watching Maxim Vengerov perform - I even got to touch his strad, and they gave me a celebrity goodie bag full of LV stuff and a Vengerov CD as I left. Good times. First of all, what’s a “lig”? Second, the articles I read said that there was supposed to be a White House official at each checkpoint, just to deal with invited guests who were having problems getting past the checkpoint. I don’t know if the official was there when this couple tried to get in. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/10 "2009-11-27T18:34:36Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > If they lied to a Federal official to get in, that could be a felony. I saw on the news that this would be the most likely charge; it would fairly easy to prove, as well as a felony conviction. I would hate to see this woman get a spot on a reality show for engaging in this kind of stunt (apparently she is hoping to be cast on a “Housewives” series) and if they hit her ass with a felony, maybe it would help stem this emerging trend of freelance fame whores, would be Balloon Boys and any aspiring Ocotmoms… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/11 "2009-11-27T18:51:22Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > First of all, what’s a “lig”? [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ligging](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ligging) > [@](#): > > Second, the articles I read said that there was supposed to be a White House official at each checkpoint, just to deal with invited guests who were having problems getting past the checkpoint. I don’t know if the official was there when this couple tried to get in. Shit happens: > [@](#): > > Royal protection officers… failed to prevent the comedian Aaron Barschak, dressed as Osama bin Laden, getting into a royal party despite setting off seven alarms and being filmed on at least five surveillance cameras. > > A lack of supervision, poor planning, and a complacent attitude by protection officers, combined to allow what Sir John Stevens, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, admitted was a “devastating” security lapse. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/12 "2009-11-27T18:51:58Z")
We need to put that couple, the Balloon Boy Family, Octomom, Jon and Kate (although they already had reality “fame” before) and any else of their ilk on their own reality show, like they want … and then have no one watch it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/13 "2009-11-27T18:56:44Z")
So, if a [bald guy with a barcode tattooed on the back of his neck](http://www.hitmanforum.com/show.php?id=32558&catid=65) walked into the White House as a tourist, he’d have no problem getting into the Oval Office? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/14 "2009-11-27T19:10:49Z")
This reminds me of a Dole-Kemp rally in Pittsburgh in 1996. A few friends and I came up from West Virginia to hear the stump speech and met the organizers. One of the young ladies that we talked to was extremely nice and was sweet on one of us (I say it was me. My buddy still says it was him) and she gave us each Dole-Kemp, “Welcome to Pittsburgh” t-shirts. We all put them on and were milling about the room while we notice the secret service beginning to put up the metal detectors and gathering the waiting public into a line to go through them. The five of us looked at each other and wondered if we should go back out and through the detectors. Since we were one of the few inside, we could get a front row seat if we stayed, and we did. It turns out that (at least what I was told) was that anyone wearing those T-shirts had been pre cleared by the secret service to be where they were at, and that there was no way that we should have been given them. Even if that was false, we were still inside an event without being screened like the rest of the public was. So, here was a pretty clear security breach. I was right there in front of Dole and Kemp, shook both of their hands, and if I were a potential assassin, I could have had pistols tucked in my waistband. I think a previous poster had it right. If you simply look the part, act like you are where you belong, you tend to blend in with everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/15 "2009-11-27T19:15:04Z")
Why should these people be prosecuted? I hate situations like this. The authorities fuck up, so then instead of bowing their heads in shame they just get madder and try to get vengeance on the people who made them look silly. Except that being made to look silly is harmless, while a felony conviction can ruin a life. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/16 "2009-11-27T20:36:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > First of all, what’s a “lig”? Second of all, what’s a “strad”? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/17 "2009-11-27T21:02:44Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Second of all, what’s a “strad”? [/QUOTE] > [@jjimm](#): > > It’s all great fun. My best lig was getting into a Louis Vuitton launch dinner, drinking champagne and eating caviar while watching Maxim Vengerov perform - I even got to touch his strad, and they gave me a celebrity goodie bag full of LV stuff and a Vengerov CD as I left. Good times. Since [Maxim Vengerov](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Vengerov) is a violinist, I’m assuming **jjimm** was fondling a [Stradivarius violin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stradivarius). ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/18 "2009-11-27T21:04:57Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > It’s all great fun. My best lig was getting into a Louis Vuitton launch dinner, drinking champagne and eating caviar while watching Maxim Vengerov perform - I even got to touch his strad, and they gave me a celebrity goodie bag full of LV stuff and a Vengerov CD as I left. Good times. This is totally understandable if you’ve heard **jjimm** ’s voice. You could get in anywhere with that accent. I’d believe he was the Queen of England if he said so. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/19 "2009-11-27T21:11:38Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I saw on the news that this would be the most likely charge; it would fairly easy to prove, as well as a felony conviction… Did any agent or the rep from the Social Secretary’s office actually ask them point blank “Were you invited?” or “Are you on the guest list?”? I have a mental image of staff just politely asking their names and trying to find them a on list. If they never actually had to come out and say the words “We were invited” then it’s not really lying to a federal agent, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105/20 "2009-11-27T21:25:39Z")
The AWs lawyer put out a statement saying that they in fact had been invited. They’re due to appear on Larry King this Monday so we’ll see what they say about that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-law-under-which-the-white-house-dinner-party-crashers-could-be-prosecuted/519105.md?page=2)