Prosecute the White House gate-crashers

[warrior1]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/28/rollins.party.crashers.whitehouse/index.html

New York (CNN) -- The gate crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi want to be famous as stars of reality television. I am all for that. Give them a reality television series and call it "Trial and Jailtime" in the D.C. criminal justice system. This despicable, desperate, duplicitous couple disgraced the Secret Service and embarrassed the president in his home.

They totally overshadowed the president's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the leader of an important ally. The incident made the Obamas' first state dinner, honoring the prime minister and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, fodder for comedians -- and it certainly raises security concerns for other world leaders visiting at later dates.

snip

[Libby2]

1. I agree!

[NC_Nurse]

2. No shit. These vulgar, disgusting attention addicts need to be prosecuted.

No more of this horseshit. It's become epidemic. Thank you stupid Americans, for making assholes the stars of
the show. Fuck reality TV and the assholes who produce this mind numbing crap to feed the masses. Idiocracy here we come.

[flor-de-jasmim]

3. Couldn't have said it better myself. I hope justice is swift.

[janedum]

4. Let's THINK about this ... If YOU pulled this stunt, don't you think you'd be in JAIL by now?

[janedum]

5. Security Breach .. for the whole WORLD to see ... NOT funny.

[AuBricker]

6. The Vast Wasteland

"Reality Shows" lend proof to the old critics' cry
that television has become a vast wasteland.

[BuelahWitch]

10. +1!

[joeybee12]

7. K&R..this couple are attention whores...

...lock them up.

[HopeHoops]

8. They are attention whores. Give them what they want - A PUBLIC TRIAL!

Then lock them up for a long time.

[Retrograde]

35. Let 'em have their reality show

on Court TV!

[piratefish08]

9. They typify what is wrong with this country. Lock the attention whores away.

[Celebration]

27. uh, WRONG

We don't put people in jail because they "typify what is wrong with this country." We may have disgust for their values, but we don't lock them up.

What is wrong with this country is that the Secret Service was not doing its job. How does this incident compare in size to an assassination or assassination attempt? And, did it quite possibly lessen the risk of that in the future? Yes, I believe that it did.

Any attention on these attention whores at all is completely misplaced. All attention should be focused on the actions of the Secret Service.

[RC]

11. Let them go.

They exposed a major security risk before some American Taliban tea-banger discovered it and took advantage of it and did some real harm.

[tabasco]

12. It may be true that they exposed a security breach

but they should be prosecuted for whatever laws they violated.

[populistdriven]

13. what pct of the law is intent?

[onenote]

14. I think they're clowns who should be held up to ridicule, but what law did they break?

[tabasco]

17. I don't know

but it seems using deception to get through a security check should be covered somewhere.

Maybe they didn't even use deception - maybe they just strolled right in. I really don't know all the facts.

[Celebration]

24. Oh

1. party crashing
2. "embarrassing" the president (except they didn't)
3. being creepy
4. being obnoxious
5. exposing major security leaks

Oh, wait, which one of the above is actually something IMPORTANT?

I put them almost in the category of whistleblowers.

What if it had been a serious journalist who had done the same thing, to try to expose leaks in security. Should that person be prosecuted?

[malaise]

38. Felony tresspassing

according to one of the talking heads.

[onenote]

41. I'd love to see a reference to the statutory provision on which such a charge would be based

Again, I think these people should be shunned. If any network pays them a dime for an interview, we should loudly mount a boycott of any entity that sponsors the interview. If the wife gets picked to be on Bravo's real housewives show, we should loudly mount a boycott of that show and its sponsors. These folks are con artists and liars and deserve public opprobrium not fame and fortune.

That said, past instances of people accused of being on the WH grounds without permission have been charged with "unlawful entry" under District of Columbia law -- there is no federal criminal law equivalent of which I am aware. The crime of unlawful entry (as distinguished from "forcible" entry") is a misdemeanor in DC.

The fact that some talking head claimed they committed "felony unlawful entry" is only evidence that the talking head was shooting blanks out of his (or her) ass.

The DC statute:http://weblinks.westlaw.com/result/default.aspx?action=Search&cfid=1&cnt=DOC&db=DC%2DST%2DWEB&eq=search&fmqv=c&fn=%5Ftop&method=WIN&n=5&origin=Search&query=unlawful+entry&rlt=CLID%5FQRYRLT6830298202911&rltdb=CLID%5FDB23780268202911&rlti=1&rp=%2Fsearch%2Fdefault%2Ewl&rs=GVT1%2E0&service=Search&sp=DCC%2D1000&srch=TRUE&ss=CNT&sskey=CLID%5FSSSA22796268202911&vr=2%2E0

Examples of cases in which someone was charged with and convicted of unlawful entry on white house grounds:

http://www.andybloch.com/appeal/cases/Boertje.html
http://www.andybloch.com/appeal/cases/Leiss.html

[DrDan]

15. why give them a microphone

they did this for publicity - and your prosecution will just add chapters to their book.

Do you think they care if they embarrassed the President? They will just brag more about how they pulled it off.

[Celebration]

21. They did not embarrass the President

They did nothing at the party to call undue attention to themselves, fortunately.

However, they sure did embarrass the Secret Service. THANK GOD.

[DrDan]

30. actually I was referring to the OP - the claim was made there that they embarrassed the President

and I agree with you - a wake up call for the Secret Service was obviously in order.

[DrDan]

33. actually I was referring to the OP - there the claim was made that they embarrassed the President

and I agree with you - a wake up call for the Secret Service was obviously in order.

[rhett o rick]

16. At least have the IRS audit them every year for the rest of their lives. nt

[guruoo]

18. I say give 'em a medal for exposing the existance of this hole in security n/t

[slackmaster]

19. Higher priority: Investigate and take action on Secret Service security lapses.

:nuke:

[Celebration]

20. They did us a HUGE FAVOR

There are ALWAYS going to be nuts trying to do stuff like this. Be grateful that THESE nuts are harmless. And that was just LUCK. Don't glorify them or pay them, but they have my undying gratitude.

[Whisp]

34. and more nuts like them will try shit like this if they aren't punished.

this should not be treated lightly. Yes, security was at fault is the bottom line, but the couple knew damn well what they were doing - knowingly getting close to the president without authourization and clearance.

[mucifer]

22. Exactly why do people with no money get sentenced for years in violent prisons for nonviolent drug

crimes when wealthy people like these creeps get to play their games and have their fun. They did not do this to help the president. They did this for their egos with the attitude that they are above the law.

[HipChick]

39. Wealthy? In debt up to their eyeballs, failed biz, foreclosed house, repossessed cars..

[mucifer]

44. yes but they have a sense of entitlement. They see themselves as wealthy not as poor.

[warrior1]

23. Senators: Take action against White House crashers

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h4kJaYGBKnhEB88lbRt1dUC3-nrQD9C99E400

WASHINGTON — Two senators say authorities ought to pursue criminal charges against the Virginia couple who crashed last week's state dinner at the White House.

Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana and Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona say such behavior should be strongly discouraged.

Authorities say Michaele (mih-KEL') and Tareq Salahi (TAH'-rehk sah-LAH'-hee) were allowed into the White House dinner Tuesday night even though they were not on the guest list. The Secret Service has apologized for the breakdown in security, and an investigation into possible criminal behavior is ongoing.

snip

[elocs]

25. Certainly prosecute them, but also fire the incompetents who allowed them passage to the president.

I would hope our president is being better protected than this.

[JanMichael]

26. Agreed. Both sides need some punishment.

The two weirdo glam seekers as well as the not so hot SS guards that didn't manage to catch them.

[bridgit]

28. Eh, big deal. So they were treating Obama's first State Dinner with the head of the largest...

Democracy in the world like another hip-hop installment of MTV Cribs and made Obama look like an non-serious, security-unconscious, disenchanted caretaker of the office of the POTUS till the real guy gets in there with their happy, smiley, 'no foul/no harm' star struck fucking yada-yada bullshit, no...

If these people are going to be released back into the wild of fraudulent republican dirty tricks and incursion they should be tagged first

[Tommy_J]

29. Prosecute for trespassing

so profits from the crime are subject to forfeiture

[glinda]

31. Favor or not. Prosecute. It wasn't funny and it is not a "game".

[Whisp]

32. I'm in agreement.

put the fuckers behind bars and they can get their reality show that way.

a precedent must be set for this kind of shit. If they get away with it, and if they profit from it by interviews, books, really getting their own show, etc., it will open up other idiots to trying similar stunts.

put them in jail. what they did was unlawful and dangerous.

[Stinky The Clown]

36. Not until we prosecute Bush and Cheney. Anybody remember THEM?

File these two under the "who gives a shit".

[Iggo]

46. Exactly.

[malaise]

37. Agreed

A lesson is needed for the copycat crowd.

[Tesha]

40. Ahh, why don't we just hand them over to the CIA for extraordinary rendition...

...to some other country where they can be tortured until they
confess and then tortured some more "just for the Hell of it".
Isn't that the modern American way?

Tesha

[icymist]

42. Who the hell let these people in to begin with?!

Someone working as an accomplice in the secret service?

<snip>
Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan issued a rare apology, saying the service took full responsibility for the episode and was "deeply concerned and embarrassed." Not good enough! He needs to determine who was responsible for letting the Salahis onto the White House grounds and fire whoever it was, before he thinks about offering his own resignation.

Whoever let them in needs to answer some tough questions IMHO.

[Swamp Rat]

43. I wonder how much they have cost the U.S. taxpayer?

How about a fine to cover all the mounting costs, and future costs, and a ban on reality show appearances as part of their probation?

[Iggo]

45. I like 'em.

They're not the most vile creatures ever to step onto the scene.

As far as I can tell, they posed no actual threat to anyone.

They're party crashers. Big fucking deal.

And the Secret Service disgraced itself. They dropped the fucking ball on this one. If the president is embarassed, it's on the Secret Service, not some gate crashers.