Secret Service agents who let couple in placed on leave
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34257345/ns/politics-white_house/
WASHINGTON - House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said Thursday the country is fortunate the White House state dinner security breach didn't end in a "night of horror."Before the start of a hearing into the incident, the Mississippi Democrat said Congress needs to talk not only to Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the couple admitted to the dinner without displaying invitations, but also to White House social secretary Desiree Rogers. All three have declined to appear.
Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said that the agents who admitted the couple through a checkpoint have been identified and placed on administrative leave. "Appropriate action" will be taken to address their involvement in the breach, he said.
Thompson had said Wednesday night that if the Salahis didn't show up, the panel was prepared to move forward with subpoenas "to compel their appearance."
Rep. Peter King of New York, ranking Republican on the committee, accused the White House of "stonewalling" in not permitting Rogers to appear. He told Thompson he would favor subpoenaing not only the Salahis but Rogers as well.
Thompson said: "This hearing is not about crashing a party at the White House. Nor is it about wannabe celebrities." He said the purpose is to better protect the president.
"We're not concerned about agency embarrassment," he said. "The security gaps at issue cannot be explained away as missteps by a few frontline employees. There were undeniable planning and execution failures of the entire Secret Service apparatus," Thompson said. "We're all fortunate that this diplomatic celebration did not become a night of horror. ... We must dissect every fact ... and after we do these things, we need to give thanks that no lives were lost," he said.
Sullivan said that "in our judgment, a mistake was made. In our line of work, we cannot afford even one mistake."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34257345/ns/politics-white_house/
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