A few pictures from the White House Easter Egg Roll today.  

As I walked up to the bureau this morning, I saw Debbie Wasserman Schultz answering questions at the cameras that waited outside.  Schultz was on Meet the Press this morning and there’s usually a small stakout outside of the bureaus or locations of all the Sunday morning shows. The idea is, if you can get the guest to say the same thing in front of your camera that they said on the show, then you do’t ahve to give another network the free commercial.  This practice has fallen off as news networks find themselves having to cut down on staff due to a lack of money.

Despite my jeans, blue tennis shoes and the tripod slung on my back, I took the opportunity to introduce myself to her and her communications director.  I figured, even on Sundays, that is kind of my job now.

While she was speaking to the cameras she mentioned the “hidden [health care] tax.”  I’ve been wondering for a while why the Democrats have not hit that message harder.  They claim that much of America is already paying for everybody else’s health care.  If this is true and our tax dollars are going to it anyway, wouldn’t it be helpful to frame the debate that way.  Is this another case of the Dems just not being that great at messaging?

Congresswoman Schultz said that she really hasn’t heard the argument that much, which surprises her. She seemed pleased that the President now is really taking a lead on health care and expects him to use the “hidden tax” argument more.

Oh and I exchanged business cards witht the communciations director because that’s apparently what I do now.  Would you like one?

(I’m going to be a total dbag in no time.)  

The glamorous gate crashers, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, flashbulbed their way in front of the House Committee on Homeland Security.  They were subpoenaed to answer questions about attending the November 24^th White House State Dinner. 

The Salahi’s released a statement before the hearing, making it clear that they were going to “respectfully invoke” their right to remain silent and “decline to answer any questions surrounding the circumstances around the events of November 24, 2009.”  

At the beginning of the hearing, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) asked whether the Salahi’s attended the state dinner as part of a reality television stunt.  Mr. Salahi responded that he was under a “non-disclosure agreement” and that he could not discuss the agreement.  When Thompson pressed him on this, Mr. Salahi invoked his Fifth Amendment right.

Members of the committee took turns asking questions that got no answers, demanding that the White House present Desireé Rogers for questioning about changes in White House security practices and admonishing the Salahi’s for their behavior. 

The Salahi’s took turns saying, “On the advice of counsel I respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question.”

Rep. Laura Richardson was able to get an answer out of Mrs. Salahi when she asked if the Salahi’s would come back and testify once the criminal process was evaluated. Mrs. Salahi responded, “Yes.”

Rep. Peter King (R-CA) was particularly incensed saying that something went wrong and it originated at the White House.  So long as Desireé Rogers doesn’t appear, King continued, we are not going to find out what happened. 

After the hearing, the Salahi’s lawyer Stephen Best made a statement clarifying that the Salahi’s are innocent and have committed no criminal act. 

While I did not ask Mrs. Salahi where she got her fabulous white sweater wrap from, we’re pretty sure she would’ve asserted her fifth amendment right had we had the opportunity.