Washington: The makeup and hair stylists of
US gatecrasher couple Michaele and Tareq Salahi made a
celebrity-like appearance before a grand jury probing the
security breach at President Barack Obama's State Dinner for
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The stylists of publicity-hungry reality TV aspirants
Michaele and Tareq Salahi arrived for their testimony in
style, accompanied by flashbulbs and a host of reporters.
The Salahis had shocked the White House by entering
Obama's first State Dinner on November 24 last year uninvited,
and the breach was discovered only when they posted their
pictures on social networking sites.
It was reported that the Michaele had spent thousands of
dollars and hours at the salon ahead of the dinner.
Georgetown-based makeup artist Erwin Gomez, hair stylist
Peggy Ioakim, salon CEO James Packard-Gomez ? along with their
attorney David Tobin ? arrived at the front steps of the
courthouse, greeted by cameras and reporters as if they were
arriving at a celebrity event, the Politico said.
Donning sunglasses and iPod earbuds, the stylist team
came in a white Hummer limo at the federal courthouse
yesterday and gave away their business cards to the media even
as Tobin tried to prevent keep them from speaking on what
transpired ahead of the Salahis' appearance at the dinner.
Following a 90 minute testimony, the team re-emerged from
the courthouse and spoke very briefly to the media.
They declined to comment on any specific details about
what they told the grand jury.
"They appeared before the grand jury and testified
honestly and to the best of their ability," Tobin said.
"Beyond that we're not going to comment on questions or
the subject matter or any of that because Erwin and his salon
do respect the confidentiality of their customers," he said.
Packard-Gomez, however, said they needed to show respect
for the justice system and the White House, even as he sent
out "big hugs" to the media.
The subpoena for Gomez and Ioakim did not specifically
mention the Salahis and it just says that the grand jury is
probing "a possible violation of 18 USC 1001, a federal
statute that covers lying to a government official".
"I have never experienced it, and I will never forget
it," Gomez said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 22:10