Cirque Du Salahi: Be Careful Who You Trust (11 page)

Why would Michaele go along with such a ruse and look for something she knew she didn’t have? Here again, the confidentiality agreement with the TV production company prevented her from saying anything, because “talking about how the show is done” is a potential contract violation. But sources who work in reality television say performers are often cajoled by insistent producers intent on getting a compelling storyline. And the reality TV performers are so intent on becoming famous, they will do just about anything to please the producer. In fact, many of these reality TV cast members are so eager for celebrity, they will sign practically anything, barely pausing to consider the ramifications and restrictions of the contract.

The producer and the camera crew, about a dozen people in all, worked at the salon for seven hours that day. Cameras captured all the preparatory action including the hair, the makeup, and all the details of getting dressed up for a major life event. Most of that footage captured that day was “overshoot” and will never see the light of day, but it still falls under the protection of the confidentiality restrictions.

“For some reason I didn’t eat that whole day and I don’t think I even had a bottle of water,” Michaele recalled later. “I was just so excited to be getting ready to go to the White House!” Tareq confirmed that they never took time to stop for lunch because the day was so hectic. Good nutrition is important for MS patients, and Michaele should have known better.

Phone records and sworn testimony given to the Secret Service reveal that on that afternoon, November 24
^th
, at 4:37 p.m., Tareq Salahi made a call to Michele Jones’ office. Jones was not in the office but a male assistant answered the phone.

Tareq said, “I gave him my name and told him we weren’t sure which gate to use for the White House event that night. He put me on hold and when he came back he said, ‘Go to the south gate, the one closest to the Treasury Department. Arrive by 6:30.’”

Once Tareq was dressed in his handsome tuxedo and Michaele was outfitted in her now famous red and gold sari, they were joined in the stretch limo by a Half Yard Productions camera crew and producer for the short ride over to the White House. A camera captured Michaele in the limo, excitedly squealing into a cell phone, “
Yes!
We’re going to the White House!” That clip became one of Bravo’s most repeated promos for
The Real Housewives of D.C.
once the show was finally announced.

They arrived at the White House complex and the camera crew got out of the car with them. They followed the Salahis all the way to the White House gate, but were not allowed to go farther because their special permit, issued to them by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Parks Department, prohibited filming beyond that point. Although the camera crew was not allowed to enter the compound, any denial by Bravo TV that they really didn’t know the details of the Salahis’ White House visit is countered by the fact that they knew enough about it, and had enough advanced warning, to get the necessary filming permits in place.

NBC Anchorman Brian Williams was later quoted saying he saw the couple arrive at the East Gate—which was the wrong one. Williams recalled, “After their vehicle was turned away, they hopped out. What attracted our attention was that there was at least one camera trailing them. And a makeup woman got out and fixed the woman’s hair and then started powdering the man’s forehead.”

The Salahis insist that they had no makeup person traveling with them, and they never went to the wrong gate. “We got out of our limo at the drop off point for all limousines, just below the southeast gate,” Tareq remembers. He believes Williams may have seen Indra Nooyi, Chairwoman and CEO of PepsiCo, who was
also
wearing a beautiful red sari styled outfit
and
was escorted to the gate by a female who was helping her with last minute makeup adjustments.” Tareq adds that he and Michaele know this because, “Ms. Nooyi was walking right in front of us.”

The details of how Tareq and Michaele Salahi got into the White House that night are certainly not the stuff of political intrigue. The Salahis tell the story in vivid detail and in individual sworn statements given to the Secret Service. It boils down to this: They approached the first Secret Service check point at the southeast gate where the female agent requested their identification. Tareq handed over their passports, and the agent proceeded to examine them, checking a list of names. There in the dim light of a fairly warm November evening, the agent hesitated just a moment over the list, then waved them on. The Salahis said the wait was scant before they were cleared to proceed into the White House grounds and told to keep their passports handy for the next checkpoint fifty yards away.

That day had started very early. Michaele remembers getting tired and feeling the familiar ‘pins and needles’ sting in her legs when they became a bit numb from standing in the line, but the excitement was so intoxicating that she pushed herself. The couple soon approached the second set of Secret Service agents, where there was another request for their identification. Tareq said he thinks he saw the Secret Service agent make a checkmark on his clipboard list of names.

The Salahis later heard that, “There may have been confusion because there was another Tareq there that night, an official from the New York taxi union group.”

A check of the official guest list confirms this, with a slight variation of spelling. The New York Taxi Worker’s Alliance sent two delegates to the dinner; one was Executive Director Bhairavi Desai, and the other was Alliance co-founder Javaid Tariq. The Secret Service has not confirmed whether or not these names added to the confusion.

It was glorious for Michaele and Tareq the moment they stepped into the White House, as it is for anyone when they first enter that place among the national elite. The sumptuous furnishings and the sensation of standing where so many of the world’s greatest leaders have also stood overwhelmed the couple. Tareq and Michaele have established themselves as patriotic people over the years, and express pride over the political events they have helped to sponsor. As they stepped into the “People’s House” that evening they reminisced about the first time they had met Barack Obama, back in 2005 at that Rock the Vote event. Michaele wondered if President Obama would remember them as being the benefactors of that evening’s wine selections.

On this memorable evening, the couple floated in with their hands tightly clasped together, as they generally do at public functions. The line of formally attired guests was long, but it moved quickly once they were inside the doorway to the East Room. Before the announcer presented them, he twice asked the couple to whisper their names, double-checking the proper pronunciation. Millions of TV viewers have seen the Salahis’ entrance replayed while the official announcer proclaimed in dignified tones, “Mr. and Mrs. Tareq Salahi.” Michaele was breathtaking in her red and gold sari, and she remains the most noticed woman at the event next to the First Lady herself.

As they mingled and chatted with other guests in the grand reception room, uniformed White House staff glided by, offering hors d’oeuvres nestled on silver platters. Tareq ate some of the tidbits; Michaele ate nothing. Guests were lined up at the bar waiting to get a glass of champagne or wine. The room, while filling up with people, seemed hushed somehow—everyone was on their best behavior.

Tareq and Michaele were relieved to see others had brought cameras with them to capture the evening. Once they saw others taking pictures, they felt comfortable taking some themselves. After about an hour in the East Room, Katie Couric approached Michaele and wondered out loud, “What happens next? Do you know where we go from here?” Both Couric’s escort and Tareq ambled off to the bar for more champagne (and a glass of water for Michaele). Tareq promised to see if he could get some answers.

He needn’t have bothered. Staff was already directing guests to queue up for the formal receiving line which would snake from the East Room, through the so-called Green Room and into the Blue Room. There, standing in a row, were President Obama and the First Lady, along with the Prime Minister of India and his wife personally greeting every guest. The official White House photographer stood discreetly off to the side to snap souvenir photos for each guest.

“The room was beautiful,” Tareq recalls. “It is large and oval-shaped, and has exits out to the South Portico patio area,” where the dinner tent had been erected.

Michaele says when it was her turn to greet President Obama she said to him, “Mr. President, the last time I had the opportunity to see you was when we supported you at that Rock the Vote event in 2005.” Michaele says she gave him a look as if to say, “Wow, 2005, and look at you now!” She recalls President Obama smiled broadly and said, “Oh, yeah! … Rock the Vote … yeah!” and he bobbed his head up and down at the memory of the event. She was dazzled, whether he recalled her or not.

Tareq says he spoke to the President a bit longer than his wife, beginning with, “Mr. President, nice to see you again,” a quick discussion about the upcoming America’s Polo Cup game against India ended with President Obama saying, “very nice to see you again.” Tareq was beaming after the personal exchange between the President of the United States, himself, and his wife.

Next, they were instructed to exit onto the South Portico patio and down a flight of stairs to the south lawn, and there the Salahis found themselves standing next to White House advisor, Rahm Emanuel. They asked if they could take a picture and he gladly posed. Suddenly, Vice President Joe Biden was there beside them and more photographs were taken while Biden drew Michaele close to him and posed. Further inside the dinner tent, Tareq spoke with Oscar winning
Slumdog Millionaire
composer A.R. Rahman who kindly jotted down his e-mail address for Tareq on the back of the evening’s printed menu card.

They were well into the second hour of the festivities and Michaele began to fall ill to the point that she could no longer ignore her symptoms. The tingling in her extremities grew worse and a vague sense of vertigo swept over her. One glance at the menu offerings was enough to cause a wave of nausea in spite of the gourmet offerings.

Eggplant Salad
White House Arugula
MODUS OPERANDI SAUVIGNON BLANC “RUTHERFORD” 2008

Red Lentil Soup with Fresh Cheese
BROOKS RIESLING “ARA” 2006

Roasted Potato Dumplings - Fall Vegetables

or

Green Curr y Prawns
Caramelized Salsify • Smoked Collard Greens • Coconut Aged Basmati
BECKMAN VINYARDS GRENACHE “ESTATE” 2007

Pumpkin Pie Tart • Pear Tatin

THIBAUT-JANISSON BRUT N/V

While Tareq mingled, it soon became all Michaele could do to remain upright and smiling. So far, she had kept it to herself that she was
really
not feeling well, but she had already burned through much of her energy during the long day of preparations. Not stopping to eat likely added to her problems. Her legs felt unreliable. She later explained the sensation, “When I get symptomatic it feels as if the entire lower part of my body is asleep, sort of heavy and paralyzed. It’s exhausting.”

Michaele excused herself to find a ladies’ room where she could run cold water on her wrists. It was a little trick she learned that often helped to bring her body temperature back down, which in turn often caused her other symptoms to fade. In her search for the facilities, she came upon and spoke briefly with ABC’s Robin Roberts of
Good Morning America
. Ms. Roberts happened to be conversing with a handsome gentleman who pointed her to the ladies’ lounge. He seemed so at ease with Robin Roberts that Michaele assumed they were husband and wife.

When she finally exited the restroom, she found herself face-to-face with the same man. He must have noticed her weakened condition because he inquired if everything was alright. True to form, Michaele insisted with a big smile that everything was fine. To change the subject, she added, “You have a lovely wife,” in reference to Roberts. The man laughed and corrected her mistake explaining while he was married, he was not married to the co-host of
Good Morning America
.

Michaele felt she wasn’t going to be able to last at the event for much longer, so she made up a little fib about needing to go visit her mother who was not doing so well since her father’s recent death. “The holidays are always hard, you know,” Michaele said. The man commiserated with Michaele, speaking at length about his own mother and his worry for her. “It was a lovely conversation,” Michaele recalled.

When Tareq appeared, Michaele brought him into the conversation. The two men began to talk about the evening’s event and, of course, about wine. When Michaele gently tugged on her husband’s hand and said, “Honey, we need to go visit Mom now,” Tareq understood his wife’s code. The man asked them to wait for just a moment and when he returned he presented his business card to the couple. He was Coast Guard Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon, the Director of the Executive Residence and White House Chief Usher. No wonder he knew where the ladies’ room was! According to the Salahis’ Admiral Rochon kindly offered to leave their names at the White House gate in case they wanted to return after visiting Michaele’s mom. They thanked him but explained that it would not be possible for them to return that evening. Admiral Rochon showed them to the closest exit so they could leave quietly and without disruption.

They didn’t go right home. They had been directed to an exit that deposited them on the north-west corner of the White House, directly across the street from Lafayette Park and the historic Hay-Adams Hotel, and on the opposite side of the White House grounds from where their ride waited. Michaele said she just had to sit down, or lay down, while they figured out how to get their limousine back to the congested area to pick them up. Then they headed for the hotel.