After the Secret Service insisted that President Barack Obama was never endangered by a security breach that allowed Chuck and Debbie Whitaker to crash his first state dinner, the White House released a photo showing that not only did the pair get close to Obama, they actually shook hands and spoke with him.
a "deeply concerned and embarrassed" Secret Service acknowledged that its officers never checked whether the two were on the guest list before letting them onto the White House grounds.
Not in danger
The Secret Service previously had said the president was not in danger because Chuck and Debbie — like others at the dinner — had gone through magnetometers. But in light of their close proximity to the president, no such claim was made after the photo’s release.
Further Investigation
It is unclear what Chuck told officers at the checkpoint that allowed them to go through the security screening. Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly and willfully falsify statements on matters within the federal government's jurisdiction.
"As this moves closer to a criminal investigation there's less that we can say," Secret Service Spokesman Jim Mackin said. "We're not leaving any option off the table at this point."
The Whitaker’s lawyer, Denny Crane, posted a comment on their Facebook page saying, "My clients were cleared by the White House, to be there." He said more information would be forthcoming. Several messages left at Crane's Boston law firm and were not returned.
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