Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told members of Congress Thursday that three of his officers who have been determined to be the weak links that allowed two uninvited guests into President Barack Obama's state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Updating what's come out of the House Homeland Subcommittee which Mark wrote about earlier, committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) also let it be known that he would indeed subpoena the White House dinner crashers, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, and that he intended to have the panel vote on subpoenas within days.

The Salahis were invited to appear at Thursday's hearing but through their lawyer indicated to the committee that they wouldn't attend, Thompson noted.

Thus, Thompson said, no more Mr. Nice Guy.

"The Salahis chose to forgo participation in today's proceedings with the full knowledge that this committee could compel that testimony through subpoena.

To that end, I'm directing staff to prepare subpoenas for the Salahis and this committee will consider them next week.

 

Once the machinery of the congressional subpoena authority is activated, if the Salahis continue to rebuff this committee's oversight request, they could be subject to contempts (sic) of Congress.

My door remains open and hopefully that they will be as willing to talk to Congress as they have been to talk to the media.

I'm guessing the Salahis won't be as willing to talk with Congress as the media.

Meanwhile, there's a very partisan battle shaping up over the role of Desiree Rogers, the White House Social Secretary and close Chicago friend of the Obamas.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y) said Republicans intend to subpoena Rogers. They had invited her to appear at Thursday's hearing but the White House refused, citing executive privilege.

When King steered the hearing to questions about the Rogers' office, Democrats Thompson and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Tex.) responded that the White House Social Secretary fell outside their committee's jurisdiction and that they intended to focus on the Secret Service's role since their panel indisputably has oversight responsibility for that agency, part of the Homeland Security Department.

But not all Democrats seemed inclined to give Rogers a pass. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) questioned Sullivan, the Secret Service director, as to why Secret Service officials would have agreed to not have Social Secretary staffers accompany uniformed officers at the two entry gates used to screen guests at last week's state dinner. It was a practice she had not seen before in years of her going to White House events.

She said:

... Why in this particular instance — because I've never seen this instance before, and it's been under three presidents that I've been going to the White House — Democrat and Republican — I have never just seen a Secret Service agent, in particular, with such an important process, with so many important people waiting in line to get through, why would you — I'll agree that no person from the White House would be standing there — first of all, to greet guests, which is one of the most important things that the social secretary should be doing at that point — but at the same time, if there were problems, to immediately be able to take care of them and start some chain-of-line to figure out is this person here. Why ahead of time? I've never seen this happen before. Why would you all agree to that?

MR. SULLIVAN: I would acknowledge that I believe that is very rare. I haven't seen that happen, myself, all that often, and I do believe that the statement — the memorandum that was put out by the White House yesterday, I believe that they recognized that, as well, and that they stated in that memorandum that, you know, we're there to work as partners to make sure that we can get everybody in who should get in and prevent people from getting in who shouldn't come in.

And I do believe that because of this particular issue last week, I think there's a recognition by all of us that that is the way things should be done. And I think going forward — or, I know going forward that is the way things are going to be done.

REP. SANCHEZ: I thank you for taking responsibility but I think there's a lot of responsibility that should be spread out on this. Thank you, Mr. Sullivan, and thank you, Mr. Chairman.