By Arun Kumar
Washington, Jan 20 (IANS) White House gate crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi appeared before a Congressional panel Wednesday but as expected, invoked their Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves.

At the outset, House Homeland Security Commission Chairman Bennie Thompson announced the couple’s lawyer had agreed to speak on their behalf, but said that would not be “satisfactory.”

Thompson explained the committee’s refusal to hear from the Salahis’ attorney, saying he was not at the Nov 24 event when the Salahis allegedly crashed President Barck Obama’s state dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

They boasted about their White House appearance on Facebook but they refused to testify before an earlier House committee hearing voluntarily. The panel promptly issued subpoenas for the couple to testify Wednesday morning.

The Salahis’ attorney has said that the couple believed they were invited to an arrival ceremony for Manohan Singh and the White House receiving line for the dinner. The couple was auditioning for a reality television show, “The Real Housewives of DC.”

The episode led to an apology from the US Secret Service and placement of three officers on administrative leave.