Peter King News

Tareq and Michaele Salahi , accused of crashing a Nov. 24 White House state dinner, wona t answer questions if subpoenaed by a congressional committee, their lawyer said in a letter today.

Several House lawmakers on Wednesday criticized the treatment of Madoff fraud victims by the agency charged with resolving brokerage firm failures, saying new legislative remedies may be needed to help the investors.

City life in Afghanistan seems calmer these days, Rep. Steve King said Tuesday. The Iowa Republican just returned from a four-day fact-finding trip to Afghanistan with several other House members - his third trip to the war-torn country.

The White House gate-crashers' plan to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to testify if they are subpoenaed to appear on Capitol Hill about the security breach.

Let's take a closer look at some of the key issues to come from Thursday's House Financial Services Committee hearing regarding poker and Internet gambling bills.

As the party-crashing Salahi family made the national TV debut they'd long dreamed about Tuesday, a new take on their escapades at the White House started percolating among some pundits and bloggers.

THE NEWS THAT accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators are to stand trial in a federal court in Manhattan has provoked no small amount of controversy and even hysterical reaction.

On the eve of President Obama's jobs forum today, the White House was warming to a number of legislative proposals aimed at boosting job creation.

In the wake of the White House dinner gate-crashing controversy, some Republican members of Congress are showing an unexpected amount of concern for the president's safety.

Without regrets, the social secretary declined the invitation. Desiree Rogers skipped last week's congressional hearing to determine exactly who's to blame for the blemish that marred the first couple's big dinner party - the entry of two interlopers.

Share + Dec 3, 2009 12:09 pm US/Central 1 of 4 In this handout image provided by The White House, President Barack Obama greets Michaele Salahi and Tareq Salahi at a State Dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House Nov.

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers arrives for a State Dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House in Washington, on Nov.

The House of Representatives has voted to require the Department of the Treasury to consolidate data on the bank bailout into a single, standardized database.

Desiree Rogers came to Washington touting "the Obama brand.'' Now it's Rogers' brand of social management that some are questioning, with the White House Social Secretary at the center of congressional subpoena talk that in past times has been reserved for the likes of political architects such as Karl Rove.

Photo: Tareq and Michaele Salahi at White House state dinner Nov. 24, 2009. WASHINGTON Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the reality show-seeking couple who crashed a White House state dinner Nov.

Via the NYT : White House Blocks Testimony on Party Crashers . Two quick thoughts come to mind upon reading this headline and story this morning: 1) It doesna t matter what party is in the White House, they are going to balk at allowing staff to testify to the Congress.

The White House is refusing to send its social secretary to Congress on Thursday to testify about the gatecrashing at last week's state dinner - a decision that prompted complaints from the top Republican on the committee holding the hearing.

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan is expected to show up and take his lumps Thursday at a congressional hearing on how attention-hungry socialites managed to invite themselves to President Obama's first state dinner.

A Zulu coconut is presented to President Barack Obama in March in the Oval Office.

I can recall a Thanksgiving when this country was mourning the loss of its youthful, handsome president.