Retracing the White House Party Crashers' Steps

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," November 30, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: There's breaking news about the most famous party crashers in all of America, the couple who somehow schemed their way into a White House state dinner. And tonight a report that this couple may have struck before.

Joining us live is Will Thomas from WTTG. Will, they may have struck before?

WILL THOMAS, WTTG: That's right Greta. Here's what we know. As you've probably heard at this point lawmakers are pushing for charges if the Salahis, the Virginia couple that got into that state dinner at the White House lied to federal officers to get inside.

Now, Fox5 here in D.C. has exclusively learned that they got into another high-security event without an invitation. That is according to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Let's look at some of the photographs from that event just four weeks earlier before the White House dinner. Michaele and Tareq Salahi, Michaele as many people call her are posing with distinguish guest at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner, September the 26th. Again, just four weeks prior to the White House state dinner.

The images are plastered on the couple's Facebook page. Some of the names and they may not match up with the photos that you're looking at but they include Senator Roland Burris, Representatives Bobby Scott (ph), Charles Rangel and Patrick Kennedy.

By the way, on Kennedy's caption, they didn't put Patrick Kennedy, they put "Ted Kennedy, Jr." so clearly they don't even know who some of these folks are.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation says, the Salahis were uninvited dinner guests. Lance Jones, who you are about to hear from now, is the communications official with the foundation. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE JONES, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: I was told that we had a couple that was sitting at our table that did not belong. And as a result, I walked back to the security guards and I asked them to walk over with me, we might have a situation of some uninvited guest. And I walked back to the table, asked them their names, checked the list, double-check, to make sure that I wasn't the one that was you know, perhaps, looking at something incorrectly. And upon confirming that they did not belong we escorted them out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: Now, he says he escorted them out of the venue, out of the D.C. Convention Center where the foundation occurred, again, September the 26th. Now, Jones says, the couple really knew they were busted. He equated it to a child with his hand in the cookie jar. He says, they offered no excuse, got up and were escorted outside as you just heard.

Here is his take on the Salahis behavior -- Mr. Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: ... pattern emerging of Mr. and Mrs. Salahi in terms of getting their 15 minutes and putting themselves out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: Now, speaking of 15 minutes, according to multiple sources, the Salahi's may be involved with a Bravo cable TV reality series the "Housewives" series. You've heard of the New York version and the Atlanta version. Apparently, there will be a D.C. version and they may be a part of it.

The foundation, again, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, they confirmed to us that Bravo contacted them just before the dinner to get access with the cameras inside the dinner. They were told no way, so all things are pointing to the Salahi's trying to pull a fast one on the foundation -- Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: Will, thank you and it looks like they did pull a fast one that they were successful. Thank you, Will.

THOMAS: They sure did.

VAN SUSTEREN: So how did this couple get into the White House? A former White House staffer tells "Newsweek" magazine she used to supervise guests for state dinners and physically turned away people who were not invited. The woman says she recently quit because the new White House took away her responsibilities.

Should someone from that Social Secretary's office have stopped this breach? White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The relay did not happened because that person was omitted at the gate from the social office and the way we understand -- that person was fired earlier and that so...

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But again, you can ask it seven ways. The answer continues to be -- the relay didn't happen because somebody wasn't there. The relay didn't happen because nobody picked up the phone to relay the information.

I mean, I appreciate the observation that somebody could or could not have been at a certain gate, but again, you can pick up the phone just like I can pick up my phone in the office and relay you April -- you don't have to be standing in my office for me to convey information to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So are you saying that the social office does not have any responsibility...

GIBBS: April, there is an investigation that's ongoing into the actions of what happened and I'm going to wait for that to be completed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN SUSTEREN: So did this couple somehow think they were invited to this dinner? "The Washington Post" reports that a Defense Department official name Michele Jones corresponded with a couple and tried to get them into the dinner. Jones says in a statement, in part, "I specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admission, admittance or access to any part of the evening's activities. Even though I informed them of this, they still decided to come."

So what do we really know about this couple? Our own Griff Jenkins is digging for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The story of Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the power seeking couple who hoped to one day be reality TV stars. Their story begins here in Virginia at the Oasis Winery, a family owned business that Tareq and Michaele are no longer affiliated with. It exemplifies the lifestyle they led, one of wine, you know, horses, a country gentleman, perhaps and his lady.

The question is who are they? And what were they doing in the hours leading up to crashing the biggest party of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENKINS (On Camera): We are here at the home of Tareq and Michaele Salahi in the hills of Virginia, the white limousine in the background rumored to be in Georgetown at a hair salon on the night of the party.

Reports are that perhaps Mr. Salahi is not here but, but his wife may be. We're going to knock on the door and see if anyone will talk to us.

I guess no one is here.

I am with Roger Bianchini a reporter for the "Warren County Report" newspaper. So the community out here in the hills of Virginia, how do they receive the Salahis?

ROGER BIANCHINI, "WARREN COUNTY REPORT": I think some of his neighbors, they sort of like touching the celebrity and like I said the international connections of the people I think are put off by their style, thinking maybe they are too flashy.

JENKINS: We are here at Erwin Gomez's Salon and Spa, Washington's premiere place to come, if you need hair and makeup, like the Salahis needed in the hours before crashing the big party at the White House.

ERWIN GOMEZ, SALON OWNER: This is where she got her make-up.

JENKINS: This was it? So Michaele Salahi sat here. How long did it take to do?

GOMEZ: It took a good one hour for me to be able to do her makeup and I helped her style her outfit, her sari and -- but she was here for about seven hours.

JENKINS: You got to do the hair of Michaele Salahi?

PEGGY IOAKIM, MICHAELE SALAHI'S HAIRDRESSER: Yes, I did.

JENKINS: You did it here, how long did it take? What was it like, what's she's talking about.

IOAKIM: I asked her, so, how did you get invited? And she told me she got an invitation in the mail and she told me that she --- shortly after, they called the White House to make sure that what she -- if her gown was appropriate, like what she should would wear, and she wanted to wear a sari, that she also told me it was designed for her -- it was made for her.

So as we're talking I was asking her, just because I was a little curious, you know, what does the invitation look like? Do you have it with you? Because I knew they were coming going from the salon to this event, so how can you not have the invitation with you? She looked through her bag and she didn't find anything, and so she said it might be in the limo, like she just...

JENKINS: She was casual about not having an invite to the White House.

IOAKIM: Right, right.

JENKINS: The first state dinner.

IOAKIM: Which you know for me I felt like oh, my gosh that would be glued on to me.

MORENIKE ABDULLAH, SALON MANAGER: I approached Tareq at first, because it was kind of odd to go to Michaele while she was getting ready and things like that...

JENKINS: Sure.

ABDULLAH: I was speaking to Tareq and he had informed that Michaele and Erwin had had made arrangements and that we were doing everything complimentary. That's when he looked at me...

JENKINS: Red flag.

ABDULLAH: Red flag, red flag, again usually -- most of the payments usually go through me, so when I went back to speak with Erwin, that's when I finally got all of the background information. Up to that point, I had no idea about the previous wedding, the outstanding bill, because that's how Erwin is, to keep things very private.

But at the same we are a new business, we want to get payment for our talent and that's when the flag really got big for me.

JENKINS: So bottom line Morenike, did the Salahis leave without paying? After seven hours of treatment.

ABDULLAH: No sir, no sir. I was able to secure payment, simply a little bit of time there was some discussions between Tareq and Michaele about who was paying for it and the arrangement but I've been doing this for a while. I worked with Erwin for a while and with Peggy. And he knows it's my job to make sure that we get payment for what we do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Content and Programming Copyright 2009 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC, which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.