President Obama's Social Secretary Desirée Rogers is facing scrutiny for the White House's party crashers, but the White House is standing behind her.
 
Michaele and Tareq Salahi's presence at the state dinner party for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and wife Gursharan Kaur is making life harder for people other than themselves.
 
Desirée Rogers is catching lots of attitude from Washington insiders that blame her (at least partially) for the snafu. She was also called to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee regarding the event, but declined.
 
According to Black Voices, first on the list ofoffenses was Desirée's abandoning her hosting duties by not manning the door to the party. Apparently, she handed off that task to White House staffer Cathy Hargraves, reports The New York Times.
 
Secondly, instead of hosting, Desiree held court at a table of her own, which is uncommon for people in her position.

"Although the state dinner was Rogers's responsibility, with its myriad moving parts, she was on the official guest list, along with other Obama intimates from Chicago, such as her ex-husband John Rogers, Marty Nesbitt and his wife, Anita Blanchard," wrote The Washington Post. "Instead of remaining behind the scenes, like a discreet stage director, Desirée Rogers had a seat at the most exclusive dinner in town."
 

Despite the criticism, the White House is supporting Secretary Rogers' decision not to testify. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that White House do not typically testify before Congress when explaining why she declined.

-- Whitney Teal

Here's more: 
Salahis: We’re not crashers