White House gate-crashers cite 5th Amendment

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The White House gate-crashers plan to invoke their 5th Amendment rights and refuse to testify if they are subpoenaed to appear on Capitol Hill about the security breach.

Reality TV hopefuls Michaele and Tareq Salahi said through their lawyer Tuesday that the House Homeland Security Committee had drawn premature conclusions about the Nov. 24 incident, when they were able to get into the state dinner without being on an approved guest list.

The committee plans to vote Wednesday to subpoena the couple to testify.

In a letter Tuesday, the Salahis’ lawyer, Stephen Best, gave examples of what he said were the committee’s premature conclusions. Best cited District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s characterization of the Salahis on Nov. 30 as “practiced con artists.”

Best also said that Chairman Bennie Thompson’s chief oversight counsel told the Salahis’ lawyers that if the couple did not testify at the Dec. 3 hearing, they would be viewed as modern-day versions of “Bonnie and Clyde.”

“It is circumstances such as these for which the 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution was designed to provide safe harbor,” Best wrote.

The Secret Service is conducting a criminal investigation into the security breach; charges have yet to be referred for prosecution.

-- Associated Press