There’s only one group responsible for the security for the White House and the Presidency… the Secret Service. Let’s stop blaming her for anybody walking in there because no one can stop anyone with the exception of the Secret Service.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley • Offering a spirited defense of White House social secretary Desiree Rogers, who’s resigning next month in the wake of the Tareq and Michaele Salahi gate-crashing, which outshone Obama’s first state dinner. Rogers was criticized for not putting anyone at the entrance where the Salahis crashed through. But not by Daley, who was her former boss. source
Vetting processes are going to get a lot stricter. The background checks are becoming more and more rigorous. Clearly, each time there’s a slip-up, the bar goes higher.
Former VH1 exec (and current Ish Entertainment owner) Michael Hirschorn • Describing the state of the reality TV industry at the moment. After the triple-whammy of the Ryan Jenkins case (which directly affected his former network), Balloon Boy and White House gate crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi, TV producers are trying their best to improve their vetting processes. The Jenkins case in particular – which wasn’t a media stunt but a brutal murder that led to a suicide – has increased background checks by 25%. Still, it may not be enough. “People will go to pretty extreme measures to make themselves stars,” Hischorn said. source
The White House Claiming that they’ve already been pretty open about the incident – especially on their official Web site – the Obama administration decided to use executive privilege to prevent White House social secretary Desiree Rogers from talking.
The Salahis While they probably could use the publicity (not), Tareq and Michaele Salahi have chosen not to testify, according to their lawyer. Their case already looks lost thanks to e-mails which prove they didn’t actually have access. source