Salahis deny gatecrashing,mum on dinner invitation

But when Matt Lauer,the host of the show,asked “Who invited you?” the couple did not answer. Instead,Tareq said,“One of the things that we’re doing is we’re working closely with the Secret Service in their internal investigation.” Tareq added that they had “turned over documentation” to the Secret Service,which may have been a reference to e-mails between the couple and Michele S Jones,a special assistant to Defence Secretary Robert M Gates.

The Salahis tried to obtain tickets to the state dinner through Jones. But in a White House statement on Monday,Jones said she told the couple that she “did not have the authority to authorise attendance,admittance or access to any part of the evening’s activities.” “Even though I informed them of this,they still decided to come,” Jones added.

In a separate interview on Today,the White House press secretary,Robert Gibbs,dismissed the notion that there was a misunderstanding between the Salahis and government officials. He added that the incident is “being looked at criminally.”

The Salahis said their lives had “been destroyed” after the dinner,as their unpaid bills came under media scrutiny. Michaele had auditioned this fall for The Real Housewives of D.C.,a reality show.