ADVERTISER

Was ABC News duped by White House crasher's phony invitation?

E-mail
January 11, 2010, 8:34 pm by Christina Wilkie

ABC News ran a photo Monday on Good Morning America of what was referred to as an invitation to Obama's Nov. 24 state dinner, provided by alleged third party crasher Carlos Allen, who said the document proved he had been invited to the dinner.

ABC noted that the "invitation Allen provided to ABC News came without an official envelope or any documents bearing his name."

But sources familiar with the authentic state dinner invitation told ITK that Allen's document is missing something far more critical than an envelope: an invitation.

That's because Allen's "invitation," shown here, isn't an invitation at all. It's a dinner program, the kind which would have been placed at each guest's seat and contained a welcome message, dinner menu and perhaps special thanks.

The real invitation reads:

The President and Mrs. Obama request the pleasure of the company of Mr. _____ at a dinner in honor of His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur, to be held at The White House on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at seven o'clock

Allen's document:

President and Mrs. Obama welcome you to the White House on the occasion of the visit of His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur.

Reached for comment, a spokeswoman for ABC News said the network never presented the document as an official White House correspondence, only what Allen alleged was proof of his having been invited.

Calls and emails to Carlos Allen were not returned at press time. The White House declined to comment on the discrepancy and referred all questions about the incident to the Justice Department. 



ADVERTISER

Sign up

for the washington scene email list

About The Washington Scene

The Washington Scene is a high-end website filled with real-time pictures from the parties and events attended by Washington's elite and political celebrities. With a social calendar containing essential information about the most prestigious events — fundraisers, galas, charity balls, private parties, dinners and red carpet premiers — The Washington Scene is the go-to site for anyone who wants to keep tabs on people and networking in the nation's capital.

For questions and comments about The Washington Scene, please email
Jennifer Yingling: jennifery@thehill.com

For events and announcements, please email
Kate Oczypok: kateo@thehill.com

For tips and gossip items, please email
Judy Kurtz: jkurtz@thehill.com

Most Popular On The Washington Scene

Get latest news from The Hill direct to your inbox, RSS reader and mobile devices.

Home/News | News by Subject | Blogs | Business & Lobbying | Opinion | Capital Living | Special Reports | Jobs | Video | The Washington Scene