Before we’d ever heard of the Salahis, a couple from Georgia was reportedly ushered into a private breakfast with the Obamas last month without an invite, after showing up for their tour a day early.
As the AP reports, Harvey and Paula Darden from Hogansville, Georgia, were supposed to attend a White House tour, about two weeks before the now-infamous Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashed the White House state dinner. The Dardens accidentally arrived at the White House a day early, and ended up joining a Veterans Day breakfast with the Obamas.
According to spokesman Nick Shapiro, the Dardens were ushered into the breakfast as a “nice gesture” after the White House staff realized that there were no public tours scheduled because of the holiday. He also said that its common practice to allow tourists into private events if there’s extra room.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said that they were only allowed in after going through the same screening procedures as everyone else, including a criminal background check.
