Joe Biden On White House Crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi: "Like They Were Old Buddies"
5815932Photo: The Salahis with Vice President Joe Biden.
WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) During their state dinner escapades, alleged White House party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi posed for photos with the "Who's Who" of American politics.
PICTURES: White House Crashers Celebrity Pals
Among the "lucky" beneficiaries of the Salahis' shutterbug-fever was Vice President Joe Biden.
5803574Photo: The Salahis with President Obama.
PICTURES: White House Crashers' Celebrity Pals
Biden said this morning on CBS' The Early Show that he didn't know the couple, but had assumed they were invited.
"I just assumed like everyone else they were guests. They acted like they knew everybody in the room," Biden said Wednesday in morning television interviews. They acted "like they were my old buddies."
PICTURES: White House Crashers' Celebrity Pals
Asked whether he thought the Salahis should face criminal charges for attending without an invitation, Biden said: "There's an old joke: That's above my pay grade."
The couple, who is currently trying out for a slot on the reality series "Real Housewives of D.C.," has said they believed they were invited. The Secret Service says they weren't on the guest list and that it erred by letting them into the Nov. 24 dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Biden said he was "completely satisfied" with the Secret Service, which he said does "a great job protecting me and my family."
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine spoke about the Salahis yesterday, saying that he "knows" the couple and is not at all surprised by their alleged actions.
"If somebody had said to me hey, some Virginians tried to crash a party, there are seven and a half million Virginians who do you think it would be, I think I might be able to guess it in about five seconds."
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PICTURES: White House Crashers Celebrity Pals
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Salahis Accused of Crashing Congressional Black Caucus Dinner
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