[classicman]

WASHINGTON -- A third person attended President Barack Obama's state dinner in November without an invitation, the Secret Service said, raising new questions about White House security procedures.

The Secret Service said Monday that it discovered the breach during its probe into security problems at the dinner for the Indian prime minister. A Virginia couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, were earlier found to have entered the event uninvited and are currently under investigation.

According to the Secret Service, the third individual had traveled from a local hotel, where the official Indian delegation was staying, and arrived at the dinner with the group. It said the individual "went through all required security measures" at the hotel with the rest of the official delegation, and then boarded a bus or van with the group to the White House. The Secret Service said it had no indication that the individual went through the receiving line or met with the president or first lady.

Rahul Chhabra, a spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Washington, said the individual wasn't a member of the Indian delegation and that the Indian Embassy "did not arrange his access" to the dinner. The Associated Press quoted a State Department official saying the individual was a U.S. citizen who was with a group of Indian business leaders before the state dinner.

The discovery of the third uninvited guest who entered the White House event spotlights another potential weakness in the White House security protocol. The Salahis entered through the main entrance along with other individual guests.

On Monday, it sparked some finger-pointing among federal agencies, with the Secret Service statement noting that the Indian delegation had been "under or the responsibility of the Department of State."

Typically, the State Department submits names of members of official delegations meeting with the president to the Secret Service for vetting. Members of such delegations could then enter the White House without having to show an invitation.

A person familiar with the investigation suggested that the State Department apparently mistakenly let the individual join the Indian delegation. He said the Secret Service was taking greater control of security procedures involving official foreign delegations.

A State Department spokesman said the incident was under investigation, and declined to comment further. The White House declined to comment.

Link

Oops