Apparently, President Obama wanted wannabe reality stars at his first White House State Dinner.
At least, that's how Michaele and Tareq Salahi tell it.
The pair of potential Real Housewives of D.C. stars appeared on Today this morning—for free, they insisted—telling Matt Lauer they have emails to prove they had a right to attend last Tuesday evening's big event.
"I am certain we'll be completely exonerated," Tareq said.
The Virginia couple admit they couldn't go into too much detail, as they are cooperating with the Secret Service and "working on their timeline" through their investigation. Once that's complete, they plan to come to New York City to sit with Lauer in person.
"We're going to show you documentation from emails that you'll get a chance to see," Tareq teased. "In our views, it's clear to us. Based on the timeline, I think the American public is actually going to be extremely surprised with all the details that went from beginning to end into what was supposed to be a lovely, beautiful evening, a lifetime memory."
However, before that can happen, the duo will face a House committee and even more rumors about their bash-blasting ways.
Lauer asked the Salahis about the Congressional Black Caucus dinner on Sept. 26, from which the pair was reportedly uninvited and escorted out.
They claim their time at the event was untarnished.
"We were invited," Tareq said. "We were invited there by the Gardner Law Group. We were a guest of theirs, a proud guest of theirs. Were we escorted out? No. That's another gossip rumor, just unfortunately how this story got started."
In the meantime, the couple who smiled throughout their early-morning interview swears they are simply beside themselves over the whole debacle.
"This has been the most devastating thing that's ever happened to us," Tareq said. "We're greatly saddened by all the circumstances that have been involved in portraying my wife and I as party crashers. I can tell you my wife and I did not party crash the White House."
"We were invited—not crashers," Michaele said. "There isn't anyone that would have the audacity or the poor behavior to do that. The White House is the house and no one would do that. And certainly not us."
The Today show reports that a misdemeanor trespassing charge against the couple is being considered.
According to a rep at Bravo, The Real Housewives of D.C. isn't expected to premiere until either fall or winter of 2010. And, even then, the network maintains its initial statement regarding the Salahis: "The decision as to who will be included in the series will not be made for several months."
(Originally published Dec. 1, 2009, at 5:54 a.m. PT)
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