Salahis vow to take Fifth if subpoenaed for crashing White House dinner

WASHINGTON — The White House gate-crashers plan to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to testify if they are subpoenaed to appear on Capitol Hill about the security breach.

Reality-TV hopefuls Michaele and Tareq Salahi said through their lawyer on Tuesday that the House Homeland Security Committee has drawn premature conclusions about the Nov. 24 incident, when they were able to get into the state dinner without being on an approved guest list.

The committee plans to vote today to subpoena the couple to testify.

In a letter Tuesday, the Salahis' lawyer, Stephen Best, gave examples of what he said were the committee's premature conclusions.

Best cited District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's characterization of the Salahis on Nov. 30 as "practiced con artists."

Best also said Chairman Bennie Thompson's chief oversight counsel told the Salahis' lawyers that if the couple did not testify at the Dec. 3 hearing, they would be viewed as modern-day versions of "Bonnie and Clyde."

The Secret Service is now investigating the breach; charges have yet to be referred for prosecution.

The committee's top Republican, New York's Peter King, said he plans to ask Thompson to amend his subpoena to include White House social secretary Desiree Rogers. King had hoped Rogers would testify at the Dec. 3 hearing. She and the Salahis were no-shows.