Desiree Rogers Irked, Pushed Away Elite DNC Donors

Elite Donors Dodge The DNC


Former White House social secretary Desiree Rogers took plenty of blame for the gate crashers at President Barack Obama’s first state dinner and for posing for fashion shoots in glossy magazines.

But a previously undisclosed gripe about her provides another explanation for her abrupt departure last month: Some of Obama’s biggest fundraisers, already chafing at not getting enough love from the administration, didn’t even get Christmas cards last year.

“The donors rose up, and that was another reason Desiree got pushed out,” said a source close to the White House.

While such a slight may seem insignificant, it can carry major repercussions in a year when the Democratic National Committee is going to need every possible resource to help the party’s congressional committees stave off major losses in the midterm elections.

According to an analysis by POLITICO, only 15 — or just 10 percent — of the 150 biggest fundraisers for the Obama campaign gave the maximum $30,400 to the DNC last year.

“I have not had that much contact with the DNC in the last six to 12 months since the election. It’s very strange,” said Alan Patricof, a New York investor and longtime Democratic donor.

To be sure, the DNC’s fundraising is humming along at a record pace, bringing in about $30 million more than it did in 2005, the last midterm election season, and giving the committee a small (less than $1 million) but rare cash advantage over the Republican National Committee.

Still, the committee lags behind the records set by Republicans when they controlled both the White House and Congress.

As of the end of January, the DNC had raised $93 million and had about $10 million in the bank. In January 2006, the last midterms when Republicans faced tough reelections, the RNC already had nearly $40 million in the bank — and the party still went on to lose its majorities.

DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan acknowledged that the committee may not be keeping pace with President George W. Bush’s RNC, but it is doing very well, he said, compared with RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s operation.

“This isn’t an exercise that should be seen in isolation,” said Sevugan. Not only is the DNC raising money at about the same rate as the RNC, “the Republicans have set themselves up for a series of bloody primaries. They are going to be bleeding early cash in a number of places.”

In addition, Sevugan noted that the committee is keeping pace even as it complies with Obama’s ban on contributions from lobbyists and political action committees — challenges the Republicans don’t face.

Still, one of the quickest ways to fill the Democrats’ campaign war chest will be re-energizing Obama’s major donors.

Mark Gilbert, a Florida fundraiser who now serves as a DNC deputy finance chairman, said some of his colleagues are simply taking a break after an exhausting presidential season and will become more active as the midterms near.

“There is the knowledge that winning the presidency was just the first part. The second part is governing,” said Gilbert. “To allow the president to do the things he wants to do, we need to continue to raise money to support candidates and the president.”

The White House recently sent what could be a rallying call to its donors when it appointed Julianna Smoot, the president’s campaign finance director, to replace Rogers as social secretary.

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Smoot brings a variety of strengths to the job: She’s detail-oriented, she’s a strong manager, and she knows both the political and the donor worlds.

While the White House rejected the notion that Smoot’s arrival would spring open doors to donors, insiders said she can at least be a familiar point of contact for them — and she’s unlikely to leave anybody off holiday card lists. “A lot of things need to be fixed,” said one person familiar with the White House decision.

The care and treatment of big donors can take many forms. As his predecessors did, Obama rewarded some supporters with ambassadorships. Boston investor Alan Solomont is in Spain, Colorado businessman Bruce Oreck is in Finland, and Chicago investor Louis Susman is in England.

For those who don’t go abroad, perks can vary. President Bill Clinton’s administration was notorious for White House sleepovers and getaways at Camp David. Bush offered donors updates on legislative progress and policy discussions going on inside the White House.

A review of White House visitor logs by POLITICO and interviews with donors suggest that many of Obama’s backers aren’t getting much of what either of his predecessors offered. A few donors have been granted tours, some were invited to last year’s St. Patrick’s Day party, and some have won face time with the president after being appointed to various commissions.

But the state dinner in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was so short on donors, one sniffed it was more “a big staff party” than a chance to recognize those who had labored for two years to raise the millions Obama needed to get elected.

Most Obama donors contacted by POLITICO said they aren’t looking for a lot of attention. “We didn’t do it for that reason. I think most people who helped Obama early on just believed in the guy,” said Stewart Bainum, an Obama backer from Maryland. “But we are all human, and it is nice to be recognized, too.”

Still, Bainum and others said the White House’s lack of attention only reinforces the reasons they decided to back him over other Democratic candidates. Andy Spahn, a Hollywood-based fundraiser for Obama, said the White House’s distance from donors “doesn’t make fundraising easier, but it is all for the good of the nation.”

While acknowledging that “this sounds goody-goody,” Peter Buttenwieser, a Philadelphia philanthropist and Obama fundraiser, said, “What would make me happy is if we would pass health care and an expanded jobs program. I’m much more concerned about what the administration does with that than whether they are appropriately grateful or not grateful to donors.”

The challenge for the DNC is that it now has the burden of both picking up the costs of maintaining portions of the president’s campaign apparatus and raising enough cash to help House and Senate candidates in the fall.

Organizing for America, for instance, which ran Obama’s vast grass-roots operation in 2008, is now operating out of the DNC. While OFA has boosted the DNC’s payroll costs, it also is a revenue generator. With the Obama small-donor list at its disposal, the DNC saw contributions from donors who gave less than $200 jump from $35 million in 2005, when Howard Dean ran the committee, to $46 million in 2009, according to a Federal Election Commission analysis.

The president’s polling experts, on the other hand, don’t generate new cash, but they do drain from the committee’s treasury. They collected nearly $3 million last year, FEC records show.

That puts the DNC under added pressure to raise record sums, even as it adjusts to Obama’s self-imposed limits on contributions.

For instance, Obama’s ban on donations from lobbyists and political action committees eliminated roughly $5 million every year from the committee’s treasury.

In the 2006 midterms, the Washington metropolitan area, home to many lobbyists, delivered $3.3 million to the DNC, which made it the second most lucrative metro area for the committee, just behind New York.

In this cycle, Washington ranks as just the fourth top metro area, with donations of about $1.9 million. Los Angeles is now first on the list, after delivering nearly $4 million to the DNC so far. New York and San Francisco are sandwiched in between in the second and third slots.

“Typically, the ‘money in the know’ — the Washington-based money from the PAC and lobbying community — is the most accessible money in the early part of an election cycle,” said Anthony Corrado, a campaign finance expert.

The economic downturn is also taking a toll. It’s diminishing some donors’ ability to give and discouraging the White House from putting the president or vice president in settings where they are surrounded by wealthy political contributors.

That’s particularly so in New York, where donors are already disgruntled over proposed financial reregulation and the president’s vilification of Wall Street.

Since his Inauguration, the president has attended 33 political fundraising events, generating about $32 million for party committees and candidates, according to CBS News Radio correspondent Mark Knoller, who has kept track of presidential travel for more than a decade.

In contrast, Bush attended just 13 political fundraisers in 2001 before the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York that September, raising about $53 million. Bush canceled the rest of his fundraising events that year, according to Knoller’s records.

And it hasn’t helped that until he left office in January, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine had to split his time over the past year between the committee’s work and his job as governor of Virginia. But he gets good marks from donors.

Kirk Rudy, an Obama fundraiser based in Austin, said that on Kaine’s first trip to Texas as DNC chairman, he spent days traveling the state and wowing surprised donors with his fluent Spanish.

“I really haven’t in the past been a contributor to the DNC,” said Kirk. “But I was very involved in President Obama’s campaign and felt it was counterintuitive to walk away, because that’s really when the work begins.”

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Sources: Politico, MSNBC, DNC, WSJ, Google Maps

Mayor Daley Defends Desiree Rogers: "Stop Blaming Her For Whitehouse Incident"

Daley Defends Ex-White House Social Secretary


Mayor Daley on Saturday stood up for resigning White House social secretary Desiree Rogers, who is stepping down next month.

Daley called Rogers a “great friend of mine,” who did a “tremendous job” in a position she didn’t have to take.

And he asserted she bore no blame for the Nov. 24 White House security breach that had many calling for her resignation since.

“There’s only one group responsible for the security for the White House and the Presidency... the Secret Service,” Daley said, speaking at the opening of a new health center on the West Side.

“Let’s stop blaming her for anybody walking in there because no one can stop anyone with the exception of the Secret Service.”

Rogers, a friend of President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, became a focus of controversy after the Obamas’ first state dinner was crashed by a publicity-seeking couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Though the Secret Service claimed blame in the incident, Rogers was criticized for not posting staffers at the East Wing entry.

On another topic, Daley said he supports the state legislature’s efforts to limit free public transit rides to low-income seniors, as opposed to all seniors. Though it overwhelmingly passed the state house, Gov. Pat Quinn said he doesn’t think it will pass the senate, and Quinn hasn’t said whether he would sign it if it did.

The program started in 2008 by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is “nice,” but expensive, said Daley.

“It’s nice to do but how do people pay for it?” Daley asked. “In the long run, you just can’t do things like that. It’s really irresponsible.”

The RTA has said limiting free rides to low-income seniors, while having other seniors pay half fare, would bring an additional $37 million a year to CTA, Metra and Pace.

Daley and other officials were celebrating opening of the new Austin Family Health Center, a $5.4 million facility providing primary health care and dental services.

Developed by Oak Park-based PCC Community Wellness Center, land for the clinic was provided by the city for $1, and the building was partially funded by a federal capital grant. PCC has nine centers citywide offering services to anyone in a community regardless of ability to pay.


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Sources: Chicago Suntimes, Google Maps

Julianna Smoot: North Carolina Native, Replaces Desiree Rogers

Julianna Smoot A Reversal From Desiree Rogers


In Julianna Smoot, the incoming White House social secretary, the Obama administration is getting everything that Desiree Rogers wasn't.

Smoot, 42, is an old Washington hand, a professional rainmaker with ties to moneyed Democrats, who helped engineer candidate Obama’s near-billion-dollar fundraising juggernaut.

Rogers, the first African-American social secretary, is a Chicago executive and a member of the Obama inner circle, who approached her post as a marketing executive, often overlooking the beltway elite as she sought to make the White House "the people's house."

Rogers seemed never to leave Chicago, bringing her star-power, urbane and modern sensibility with her to stodgy DC, while Smoot is consummate Washington, a political powerhouse accustomed to operating as an under-the-radar staffer.

"She has political sensibilities and that's what Desiree was missing," says one source who is familiar with the inner workings of the East Wing and Smoot’s background. "She's not a diva. She was a top fundraiser but she knows her place in the world."

Observers say it is rare to have a campaign fundraiser as social secretary, a position that is usually filled by someone well-known to the president and the first lady and who is experienced at planning large events according to protocol.

The circle of people who fit the bill is a small one. And Smoot adds to the normal set of skills a long resume as a money wrangler.

Some observers say that background raises the specter of the White House as an exclusive club, with Smoot as the gatekeeper, and speculated that the White House didn't reward her with such a job initially for that very reason.

"It probably would have raised some eyebrows," said one longtime Democratic aide.

In Obama’s statement Saturday announcing Smoot, who has worked as finance director for four Senators, as the new social secretary, he noted that she has “worked in and out of Washington” and “shares our commitment to creating an inclusive, dynamic and culturally vibrant White House.”

Asked about her background, a White House official said that appointing a fundraising staffer to the post isn't "outside the norm," since one of President George W. Bush's social secretaries, Lea Berman, had been such a staffer, though not one of Smoot's centrality.

Smoot, a North Carolina native, was one of the first five people hired by the Obama campaign and "played a significant role" in targeting not just large donations but smaller ones too, says one Democrat who worked with Smoot on the stump and known her for years.

One Democrat points out that Smoot "took the traditional fundraising model and turned it on its head."

"She made the smaller donor the focus of the campaign and I'm sure she'll bring the same attitude to the White House," the source said. "She's been there from the beginning, she knows the staff, knows the family and has great connections in the Senate and around town."

Campaign insiders, however, say Smoot focused largely on cultivating wealthy, traditional donors behind the scenes, while a different campaign team focused on low-dollar, high-profile email fundraising.

Democratic strategist Phil Singer, who worked with Smoot at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, says she has a "keen eye for details and being organized"—key qualities in a great social secretary.

"She was always very good at keeping Senators disciplined and focused on the task at hand. She's a total pro that can be counted on to get the job done,” he said. "She's the kind of person who will make an organized political operation run even smoother."

Others who know Smoot, currently chief of staff to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, say that her "Washington insider" status makes her a perfect fit for the job of social secretary, a position that requires diplomacy, a sense of style, an eye for detail and an ear for all things Washington—her job as fundraiser required taking care VIPs, planning events and being an excellent extension of her principle.

A Democrat who has worked with Smoot said her role as an insider will help an East Wing viewed by some as “too Chicago,” since she knows all the top players around town, unlike Rogers, who will reportedly return to the corporate world.

When Smoot takes over next month, she will in some ways be stepping into Rogers’ shadow—the outgoing social secretary raised the profile of the job to a level not seen since the Kennedy era.

Anita McBride, former Chief of Staff to Laura Bush, said that Smoot “joins a long line of successful and talented women who have served as staff in the White House in a key and influential role that supports the goals of every President and First Lady.”

"It's a good recipe for success to choose someone who not only understands events, and protocol, but knows how to work the Washington scene, has a relationship with and the confidence of the president and first lady and knows their friends and supporters," McBride said.





Julianna Smoot's Profile:


Julianna Smoot joined the Office of the United States Trade Representative in February 2009 as the Chief of Staff.

Prior to joining the USTR, Ms. Smoot served as Senior Advisor to President Obama and served as Co-Chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. In January 2007, Ms. Smoot joined President Obama's Presidential Campaign as the National Finance Director. Prior to working for President Obama, Ms. Smoot served as National Finance Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, chaired by Senator Charles Schumer.

Previously, Ms. Smoot served as Senior Advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and as Finance Director for Senator John Edwards' race for U.S. Senate. Ms. Smoot has also held positions with Senator Richard Durbin and Senator Chris Dodd.

Julianna Smoot, a North Carolina native, received her Bachelor's Degree in Government from Smith College in Northampton , MA.


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Sources: Politico, Washington Post, U.S. Trade Dept, Google Maps

Why Desiree Rogers Is Leaving: Wrong Fit For Job, Spat With Valerie

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How Desiree's Fate Was Sealed


Embattled White House social secretary Desiree Rogers finally stepped down yesterday. Sandra McElwaine on why she was always the wrong person for the job—and how she might bounce back.

Don’t cry for Desiree even though she’s gotten the hook.

Let’s face it, she was never right for the job. Traditional White House social secretaries are behind the scenes, detail-oriented worker bees who toil from dawn to dusk polishing guest lists, overseeing menus, and delicately smoothing over last-minute catastrophes. The highly visible and glamorous former corporate executive could never play that role. With her trendy designer clothes and penchant for publicity she was determined to be star, and simply too high-profile and too in your face.

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It didn’t take the gate-crashing episode at the Obamas first state dinner in November to predict the end this front-page career. She began the process herself by blitzing the media last April. In a revealing Wall Street Journal interview she crowed about a “strategic plan" to launch "the best brand on earth: the Obama brand."

"Our possibilities are endless," she enthused as she spoke of marketing the “crown jewel,” the White House. She then went on to discuss her job, which she described as a business. "Otherwise you never get there. You get caught in linen hell and flower hell, list hell.”

Wait a minute it — isn’t that what the job is supposed to be? Many former social secretaries were taken aback and grumbled discreetly among themselves. It didn’t take long for a number Washington insiders to realize she would soon be toast.

”A social secretary’s job is to help the first family put their own social mark on the White House, and it’s not about them, it’s about the family, about the first lady and the president. If it becomes about them, then there’s a problem," observes Nancy Reagan's former press secretary Sheila Tate. "There’s a difference between staff and principles. Sometimes people who have been important in their private career can’t make that adjustment."

"I don’t understand why she took the job, and I think she was quickly bored with it,” says a long-time acquaintance of Rogers'. “Arranging flowers and picking out tablecloths is definitely not her bag."

The same person also dismisses Rogers' claim that her goal was to turn the executive mansion into “the people's house.”

“Chic people are what she cares about,” she says. "They don’t have to be rich—just chic!”

After the security breach, for which the Secret Service took the rap, Desiree tried to play down her glitzy image, but a number of political players saw an opportunity, stepped in, and supervised every decision she made. Some say in December she was told to start pulling up stakes and planned to head back to Chicago, where her ex-husband, John Rogers, with whom she remains close, is an immensely wealthy and powerful hedge fund manager. (He had been trying for months to orchestrate his wife’s resurrection by talking to a variety media mavens around town.)

Before coming to Washington, Desiree was a high-powered executive and major player who raised funds for her close friends Michelle and Barack Obama and introduced them to the philanthropic and social scene. With theses illustrious connections she seemed invulnerable.

When the news of her resignation broke on Friday, many speculated that a cat fight between Desiree, presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett (who was still furious over the Indian State Dinner debacle) and Michelle Obama's chief of staff Susan Sher expedited her departure. The three women were friends and lived in the same Georgetown apartment building. Apparently they battled over East Wing turf. “I think this is a good time for me to explore opportunities in the corporate world," Rogers told the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday.

Jarrett’s response: “I completely respect her decision to return the private sector.”

According to Desiree she made her decision to move on in January but did not intend to announce it for some time. When it leaked, the Obamas issued a short statement thanking their long time friend for her service and wishing her “all the best in her future endeavors.

It’s hard to tell whose hand wielded the dagger in this particular caper. As a White House reporter reflected, "I think the real reason is that she wasn’t a good fit, not used to being an underling. In Chicago, Desiree was the queen bee – a CEO and social powerhouse – and the Obamas were just that nice young couple from the South Side.”


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Sources: The Daily Beast, MSNBC, Hardball, Chicago Suntimes, Google Maps

Desiree Rogers Steps Down! Heads Back To Chicago; Who's Next?

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White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers To Step Down


White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers told me Friday she will step down next month, after presiding over 330 events in the White House in 14 months.

Rogers is departing after achieving a major goal of President Obama and First Lady Michelle -- opening up the White House to make it the "peoples house."

"As we turn the corner on the first year," Rogers told me, "this is a good time for me to explore opportunities in the corporate world."

Rogers told me it has been "an honor and a privilege to serve this president and First Lady, in what has certainly been a historic presidency."

Rogers, a friend of the First Couple for years, was one of the first Obama administration appointees.

"When I took on this assignment, we talked about the importance of creating the people's house. My work was really to create this framework," she told me.

"I think I completed that work. Our office has been able to lay the foundation for what will be known as the 'people's house' and it has already taken shape."

Rogers tenure was marked by high points--she was a moving force behind a White House music series--and a low point, when the Obama's first state dinner was crashed by a publicity seeking couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Though the Secret Service immediately said it was their fault--agents did not follow security protocols--Rogers got some of the blame.

I asked Rogers if the Salahi episode was a factor in her resignation. "The incident at the State Dinner was not a deciding factor," she told me. "But it did show me a side of the job and of Washington that I had not seen before."

After I spoke to Rogers, President Obama and First Lady Michelle said in a statement, "We are enormously grateful to Desiree Rogers for the terrific job she's done as the White House Social Secretary.

When she took this position, we asked Desiree to help make sure that the White House truly is the People's House, and she did that by welcoming scores of everyday Americans through its doors, from wounded warriors to local schoolchildren to NASCAR drivers. She organized hundreds of fun and creative events during her time here, and we will miss her. We thank her again for her service and wish her all the best in her future endeavors."

I've been told by several sources that Rogers will be replaced by Julianna Smoot, the chief of staff to the U.S. Trade Representative who was the Obama presidential campaign chief fund-raiser.

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Alleged Dinner Crashers Invoke Fifth Amendment Rights


In what one member of Congress called "a charade," a couple that showed up at President Obama's first state dinner -- uninvited, the White House claims -- declined to answer questions surrounding the event before a House committee Wednesday.

Under questioning from House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, and others, Tareq Salahi repeated over and over again, "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question."

The Salahis' attorney notified the committee in December that because of a pending investigation by federal prosecutors, they would not answer questions about how they gained entry to the White House on November 24, despite not being on the guest list to attend that night's state dinner for the prime minister of India.

In a brief statement that opened the often-contentious hearing, Salahi chastised the committee for requiring the couple to appear despite having been told the two would invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if subpoenaed. That, he alleged, is against the ethical rules of the Washington bar.

He incensed some committee members by reiterating the couple's respect for U.S. troops, the Secret Service and the president.

"You have shown effrontery here," said Daniel Lungren, R-California. He called it "an abomination" that the Salahis would invoke the name of those in uniform "and suggest that somehow what you do provides support to them."

"The Constitution protects fools," Lungren said. "The Constitution protects stupidity. The Constitution protects errant thought. Thank God it does."

"This was not a hearing looking for information," the couple's attorney, Stephen Best, told reporters after the hearing. "This was an opportunity for a public flogging."

"I think today's procedure is a charade," Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana, said in the hearing, referring to the Salahis' refusal to answer questions.

Other committee members also lambasted the couple, alleging they put their own desire for celebrity before the security of the president and are wasting the committee's time and taxpayers' money.

"I don't respect your right to take the Fifth Amendment. Not at all," Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, told the couple.

"Were you there?" he asked Salahi, referring to the dinner.

When Salahi began, "On the advice ..." Pascrell interrupted him, asking, "Are you here right now? You gonna get an answer from your attorney on that?"

Pascrell noted the committee had offered to allow the couple to speak behind closed doors. After conferring with his attorney, Salahi said, "Yes, but you didn't offer us any legal protection."

Salahi's wife, Michaele, also invoked her Fifth Amendment right under questioning by committee members, but replied, "yes," when asked if she would return to testify after the investigation has concluded.

Asked by Thompson whether the state dinner appearance was part of a "reality TV stunt," Tareq Salahi said the couple was under a non-disclosure agreement and "should not discuss matters related to the television matter."

The Salahis contend they were told they could attend the program to honor India's prime minister, but the White House says they were not invited and were not on the guest list for the exclusive affair.

Best said after the hearing the couple received "representations that they relied upon" that they were invited guests. Two Secret Service investigators were privy to this information from a person who knows the Salahis, he said. "This was not a stunt, and they committed no criminal act."

There was no connection to any reality TV show, he said, and the Salahis were not seeking publicity. The couple has turned down multiple offers from the media to be "rewarded handsomely," he added.

"Whatever the real story is, it's on the other side of the gates of the White House, not with the Salahis," Best said. "They thought they were invited. ... If it was a misunderstanding, it was a misunderstanding caused by representatives of the government."

Tareq Salahi also noted in his opening statement that the couple's attorneys have offered to provide information to the committee, but that offer was declined by Thompson's staff.

"Those offers are not satisfactory," Thompson said. "These lawyers were not at the state dinner and have no firsthand knowledge of the facts."

Tareq Salahi also said the couple has provided phone records, e-mails and other documentary evidence to the committee.

There also was criticism of the White House in Wednesday's hearing.

Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said the White House "continues to stonewall" and will not allow social secretary Desiree Rogers to testify on the security breach.

Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs has said that allowing a White House staff member to testify before a congressional committee would violate the Constitution's separation of powers.

"I don't know what the White House is trying to hide," King said. "Obviously, something went wrong, and it originated with the White House, not the Secret Service."

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, in previous testimony before the committee, took responsibility for the security breach, acknowledging that "appropriate procedures were not followed."

Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pennsylvania, said Wednesday he thought it was "unfortunate" that Sullivan "had to take all that grief from us."

"I hold you responsible for it," he told the Salahis.

"Your actions ... made a mockery of this country, a mockery of our security," Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, told the couple. "I'm saddened, and I'm disappointed, and I'm outraged."

Best reiterated afterward the Salahis do not want the events surrounding the dinner to detract from the "extraordinary institution" of the Secret Service.

"They are Americans," he said. "They are proud Americans."






TRANSCRIPT OF THE EXCHANGE:


APRIL RYAN: Was there a concern in this White House that she came out being, some might have called her the ‘belle of the ball,’ overshadowing the first lady at the…

ROBERT GIBBS: I don’t who some are. I’ve never heard that. Again…

RYAN: Well, it’s been bantered around Washington, and it’s been in Democratic circles as well as Republican circles, high-ranking people…

GIBBS: April, I, I, that’s not a station I live in in life.

RYAN: Just answer the question, please.

GIBBS: Are you done speaking so I can?

RYAN: Oh yes, I’m done.

GIBBS: I’ve not heard any of that criticism. I’ve not read any of that criticism. The president, the first lady, and the entire White House staff are grateful for the job that she does. And thinks she has done a terrific and wonderful job pulling off a lot of big and important events here at the White House.

RYAN: Did she invite herself to the state dinner or was she a guest? Did the president invite her or did she put her… No, that’s a real question. Do not fan it off. I’m serious.

GIBBS: I, I, Jonathan-

RYAN: No, no, no. Did she invite herself or did the president ask her? Her name was on that list, and social secretaries are the ones who put the names on the list…

GIBBS: Right. Was she at the dinner? April, April, calm down. Just take a deep breath for one second. Now see? This happens with my son. He does the same thing.

(Here there is an Audible reaction from other reporters as, Ryan mouths, “I’m older than your son.”)

RYAN: Don’t play with me. I’m being serious. Do not blow it off.

GIBBS: I’m not… And I’m giving you a serious answer. Was she at the dinner? Yes. She’s the social secretary.

RYAN: Social secretaries are not guests of the dinner.

GIBBS: She had the primary responsibility for running the dinner. I’m going to get back to weightier topics like 98,000 men and women in Afghanistan.






April Ryan's Professional Profile.


April Ryan, White House Correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks (AURN), is a 23-year journalism veteran who has worked in that capacity since January 1997. During her tenure as White House Correspondent, Ryan has conducted one-on-one interviews with President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Senator John Kerry, Senator Barack Obama and a host of other dignitaries. Ryan has been credited by a White House historian as having the most radio interviews with President Bill Clinton during his White House years.

In February of 2008, Ryan conducted an exclusive interview on Africa with President Bush in the White House Oval Office. Ryan also conducted a one-on-one with South African President Thabo Mbeki. She has traveled to Africa on numerous Presidential missions with President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and President George W. Bush. Ryan’s exclusive coverage of Presidential visits to Africa and first-hand viewpoints were utilized in a 10-part AURN series that centered on Clinton's historic six nations African tour and was broadcast in June 1998. An exclusive interview with then First Lady Hillary Clinton followed and excerpts from the interview were not only broadcast in the news on AURN's SBN and AUN networks, but was also featured on the CBS evening news, among other national television and radio broadcasts.

Ryan traveled aboard Air Force One and interviewed President and Mrs. Bush while flying to the Gulf Coast for the Hurricane Katrina one year anniversary. In 2006, Ryan traveled with the First Lady to Mississippi where Mrs. Bush met with New Orleans Hurricane Katrina survivors. In September 2005, Ryan flew to Haiti with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and reported on America’s support for democratic elections and while there – due to the volatile political climate – was under the protection of the United Nations Blue Helmet Security forces. .

In addition to her White House coverage, Ryan also hosts “The White House Report,” a daily feature broadcast over hundreds of AURN affiliated stations nationwide. The Baltimore native has also utilized her journalistic prowess beyond the steps of Capitol Hill and has traveled to China and Switzerland for newsworthy events. In September 2005, Ryan’s breaking news coverage with First Lady Laura Bush was also highlighted on NBC’s Today show. Additionally, many of Ryan’s breaking news stories and interviews have also been spotlighted on ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and FOX as well as in some of the nation’s top newspapers.

Ryan is an esteemed member of the National Press Club and serves on the newsmakers committee. She has also garnered numerous professional accolades to include receiving an American Swiss Foundation Young Leader Award in 2004 and being named one of the Outstanding Young Women in America in 1997.

Ryan began her radio career in Baltimore, MD where she worked for several radio stations including WXYV-FM where she served as news director. She is a graduate of Morgan State University and resides in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.


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Sources: Chicago Suntimes, CNN, MSNBC, WSJ, American Urban Radio Networks, C-Span, Left Coast Rebel, Bitten and Bound, Google Maps

Salahis Invoke Fifth Amendment Rights; Desiree Rogers Still Wanted

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Alleged Dinner Crashers Invoke Fifth Amendment Rights


In what one member of Congress called "a charade," a couple that showed up at President Obama's first state dinner -- uninvited, the White House claims -- declined to answer questions surrounding the event before a House committee Wednesday.

Under questioning from House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, and others, Tareq Salahi repeated over and over again, "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question."

The Salahis' attorney notified the committee in December that because of a pending investigation by federal prosecutors, they would not answer questions about how they gained entry to the White House on November 24, despite not being on the guest list to attend that night's state dinner for the prime minister of India.

In a brief statement that opened the often-contentious hearing, Salahi chastised the committee for requiring the couple to appear despite having been told the two would invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if subpoenaed. That, he alleged, is against the ethical rules of the Washington bar.

He incensed some committee members by reiterating the couple's respect for U.S. troops, the Secret Service and the president.

"You have shown effrontery here," said Daniel Lungren, R-California. He called it "an abomination" that the Salahis would invoke the name of those in uniform "and suggest that somehow what you do provides support to them."

"The Constitution protects fools," Lungren said. "The Constitution protects stupidity. The Constitution protects errant thought. Thank God it does."

"This was not a hearing looking for information," the couple's attorney, Stephen Best, told reporters after the hearing. "This was an opportunity for a public flogging."

"I think today's procedure is a charade," Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana, said in the hearing, referring to the Salahis' refusal to answer questions.

Other committee members also lambasted the couple, alleging they put their own desire for celebrity before the security of the president and are wasting the committee's time and taxpayers' money.

"I don't respect your right to take the Fifth Amendment. Not at all," Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, told the couple.

"Were you there?" he asked Salahi, referring to the dinner.

When Salahi began, "On the advice ..." Pascrell interrupted him, asking, "Are you here right now? You gonna get an answer from your attorney on that?"

Pascrell noted the committee had offered to allow the couple to speak behind closed doors. After conferring with his attorney, Salahi said, "Yes, but you didn't offer us any legal protection."

Salahi's wife, Michaele, also invoked her Fifth Amendment right under questioning by committee members, but replied, "yes," when asked if she would return to testify after the investigation has concluded.

Asked by Thompson whether the state dinner appearance was part of a "reality TV stunt," Tareq Salahi said the couple was under a non-disclosure agreement and "should not discuss matters related to the television matter."

The Salahis contend they were told they could attend the program to honor India's prime minister, but the White House says they were not invited and were not on the guest list for the exclusive affair.

Best said after the hearing the couple received "representations that they relied upon" that they were invited guests. Two Secret Service investigators were privy to this information from a person who knows the Salahis, he said. "This was not a stunt, and they committed no criminal act."

There was no connection to any reality TV show, he said, and the Salahis were not seeking publicity. The couple has turned down multiple offers from the media to be "rewarded handsomely," he added.

"Whatever the real story is, it's on the other side of the gates of the White House, not with the Salahis," Best said. "They thought they were invited. ... If it was a misunderstanding, it was a misunderstanding caused by representatives of the government."

Tareq Salahi also noted in his opening statement that the couple's attorneys have offered to provide information to the committee, but that offer was declined by Thompson's staff.

"Those offers are not satisfactory," Thompson said. "These lawyers were not at the state dinner and have no firsthand knowledge of the facts."

Tareq Salahi also said the couple has provided phone records, e-mails and other documentary evidence to the committee.

There also was criticism of the White House in Wednesday's hearing.

Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said the White House "continues to stonewall" and will not allow social secretary Desiree Rogers to testify on the security breach.

Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs has said that allowing a White House staff member to testify before a congressional committee would violate the Constitution's separation of powers.

"I don't know what the White House is trying to hide," King said. "Obviously, something went wrong, and it originated with the White House, not the Secret Service."

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, in previous testimony before the committee, took responsibility for the security breach, acknowledging that "appropriate procedures were not followed."

Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pennsylvania, said Wednesday he thought it was "unfortunate" that Sullivan "had to take all that grief from us."

"I hold you responsible for it," he told the Salahis.

"Your actions ... made a mockery of this country, a mockery of our security," Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, told the couple. "I'm saddened, and I'm disappointed, and I'm outraged."

Best reiterated afterward the Salahis do not want the events surrounding the dinner to detract from the "extraordinary institution" of the Secret Service.

"They are Americans," he said. "They are proud Americans."


Sources: CNN, MSNBC, WSJ

Where's The Elegant Ms. Desiree Rogers Now?

Desiree Rogers: The New White House Wallflower


As 50,000 people attend 28 White House Christmas parties, glamorous social secretary Desiree Rogers is on the sidelines. Sandra McElwaine on the new security policies—and how her ex-husband is trying to help.

Desiree Rogers will no longer be swanning about at White House parties. Au contraire. Ever since the glamorous social secretary was hobnobbing with celebrities, oblivious to two reality-TV wannabes who were crashing the Obamas’ first State Dinner in November she has been given a timeout.

Even though her Louboutin stilettos still click down the historic hallways of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, there have been no more appearances in designer gowns or pronouncements about pushing the unique Obama brand. Instead, the sophisticated Harvard MBA seems to be adapting to a more formal protocol and attempting to play a more traditional behind-the-scenes role as she oversees the care and feeding of more than 50,000 guests at 28 different holiday receptions.

Being on the sidelines is not a familiar place for the 50-year-old Rogers. The descendant of a Louisiana voodoo priestess, she has always been a star with a penchant for publicity.

Once married to a powerful hedge-fund manager, John Rogers—they remain close friends (“John is very shy, Desiree is always out front,” says a friend)—Desiree Rogers was a leading member of Chicago's business and philanthropic world. It was Rogers who introduced the Obamas to the social elite, not the other way around. (She also helped raise $200,000 for his Presidential campaign.)

“She’s a big deal in politics and the community and so well connected Obama can’t fire her,” says a well-placed Chicagoan. “I’m surprised she took this job. I didn’t know she wanted to work this hard.”

Until Desiree Rogers, White House social secretaries were considered worker bees who stayed in the shadows compiling lists, organizing events and seating charts, and averting last-minute disasters, but the high-flying business executive had no intention of playing an inconspicuous or subservient role.

From the moment she arrived, she quickly broke the mold by flaunting her upscale lifestyle and interests, sometimes outshining her boss, posing for Vogue and other glossies, and announcing a totally new agenda for the social office. “You have to think about [The Social Secretary Job], in my mind, almost like a business,” she told The Wall Street Journal in April. “Otherwise, you never get there. You get caught in linen hell and flower hell, list hell.”

Her outspokenness did not endear Rogers to the elite clique of former social secretaries. Many inside the Beltway felt she was too wedded to the Obamas’ inner circle, known as the Chicago Mafia, and much like others in new administrations, she seemed reluctant to leave her cocoon in order to learn the ways of the capital.

“They realized she never had a clue how to plan a State Dinner,” says one Washington socialite. “This is such a different environment from Chicago. You simply can’t do what you did there.”

According to one recent party goer, a visibly chastened Rogers has now had to tone down her glitzy image: “She’s out there looking like a working stiff, a fashionable one, but not dolled up like before.”

Since the Salahis incident at the State Dinner—when the Secret Service assumed responsibility for the security breach while Rogers stayed silent—there are new regulations and protocols in place at the White House.

All guests must now run a lengthy official gauntlet before entering the Presidential mansion. For starters, there are two checkpoints manned by a representative of the administration and a Secret Service officer. Next, attendees will now be asked to provide a photo ID at two other checkpoints, while aides swirl around to deter any unexpected visitors.

Finally, at the East Colonnade, guests are now greeted by Rogers, sporting a chic black suit, a standard White House identification badge around her neck, a clipboard in hand. ”Welcome to the White House on behalf of the Obamas,” she says with a dazzling smile.

Despite the new policies, there was already a kerfuffle over invitations to two of the White House press parties last week. Apparently, the invitations went out late and the White House did not issue them by name.

Rather, they sent a batch to the manager of each bureau, who doled them out to whomever they wanted. As such, a number of reporters who cover the White House for leading newspapers and other news organizations were never included. This latest misstep was blamed on press secretary Robert Gibbs, but many in Washington blame Rogers.

Another recent flap involved the White House receiving line. The Obamas decided not to shake hands and pose for pictures with every guest at every party, as their predecessors had done. Being denied a prized photo op has created considerable angst among a number of invitees—including Dee Dee Myers, President Clinton’s former press secretary, who observed: “I totally understand that doing a receiving line is exhausting, yet people have come to expect it. It means a lot to them.”

Rumors abound about plans to resurrect Rogers' reputation. Will she stay on for a grace period and then be reassigned as ambassador to some neutral country like Switzerland or Luxembourg? "Once you put yourself out there the way she has, it’s hard to come back in,” observes a friend.

Even her ex-husband has been talking to an eclectic mix of journalists about the best way to revive her fortunes. One concept under consideration: orchestrating a humorous mea culpa as Nancy Reagan did at one of the annual Gridiron Dinners.

Known for her extravagant taste and fancy outfits, the former first lady donned oversize rubber boots and a seriously frumpy dress and waltzed out on the stage singing “Second Hand Clothes” to the tune of “Second Hand Rose.” Her performance brought down the house and all was forgiven.

Might this ploy this work for the troubled social secretary? After all, Washington is a city of redemption.

Speech writer and humorist Landon Parvin, who wrote those lyrics for Nancy Reagan, doubts that frivolity will solve her problem. “She can’t get out of it with a one-liner," he says. “What she needs to redeem herself is not humor but the truth. She should admit her mistake and tell us exactly what happened. The sooner the better.”


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Sources: The Daily Beast, C-Span, Bitten & Bound, American Urban Radio Networks, Google Maps

Desiree Rogers: Former Republican, Strong Breast Cancer Survivor...WH Fiercely Defends Her

Valerie Jarrett discusses Obama's Job Summit. She also defends the Obama White House's decision not to allow Social Secretary Desiree Rogers to testify on Capitol Hill.

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Will anyone else other than Secret Service Agents take the fall for "Party Crash Gate"?

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Desiree Rogers: Dinner gaffe puts spotlight on Obamas' Social Chief


Desiree Rogers described herself as "giddy with excitement" when she was picked as social secretary for the new Obama White House.

"This is the perfect combination of some of the skill sets that I have," she told the Tribune at the time. "I don't think it can get much better than this."

But a year and one gaffe-plagued state dinner later, it could be a lot better for Rogers. The former head of the Illinois Lottery and Peoples Gas now finds herself in the Washington political cross hairs after a security lapse that allowed gate-crashers into last week's White House gala for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Secret Service has assumed the lion's share of blame, but a key Republican is threatening to subpoena Rogers over questions of whether her office ignored protocol for such events and may have contributed to the breach. Partisanship aside, the incident has also focused an unwanted spotlight on Rogers, whose position is designed to raise the profile of the first family -- not their social secretary.

The 50-year-old Rogers, a friend of President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, has shown a flair for personal publicity in what tends to be a low-profile position. She has been featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair and boasted of the marketing potential of "the Obama brand."

That has raised eyebrows in Washington, the nation's center of power, cattiness and long knives, where some dismiss her as an imperious fashion plate.

Walter Scheib, the top chef at the executive mansion for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, said that from his first day on the job it was made clear that top staffers were supposed to remain in the background.

"What has occurred is unfortunate on so many levels: the president, the first lady and our guests of state were in danger," Scheib said. "It's a fact. Folks who work at the White House, their one and only job is to guarantee the safety and be of service to the first family and the president."

Rogers, a one-time Republican once considered as running mate for former Gov. George Ryan, is no stranger to controversy or adversity.

Six years ago she survived a bout with breast cancer.

When Rogers was president of Peoples from 2004 to 2008, the utility was sued by the city and state for "massive fraud" linked to the Enron scandal that allegedly led to widespread customer overcharges. The scheme predated Rogers' term at the company's helm, but stonewalling of the investigation allegedly continued after she took over. Peoples agreed to a record $196 million in refunds.

On Thursday, the White House made it clear that it was standing by Rogers. She's "not curling up in a ball," said a White House official, terming it "unfortunate" that problems at the Singh dinner had overshadowed Rogers' success in arranging 170 parties and social events without a hitch. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rogers has made herself available to the media largely to accommodate heavy interest in her role as the first African-American to be White House social secretary.

A similar message came from her ex-husband, Chicago financier and Obama fundraiser John Rogers Jr., who has spoken to her in recent days. "It's out of the question that she won't survive this," he said. "She's at the top of her game. She's busy with planning all the Christmas parties at the White House."

Divorced for a decade, Desiree and John Rogers have one daughter, a student at Yale University.

A native of New Orleans, Desiree Rogers came to Chicago by way of Wellesley College, a Harvard MBA and a job in operations at AT&T. After marrying John Rogers, founder of multibillion-dollar Ariel Capital Management, she managed newsstand operations for the Levy Corp. and ran a firm that operated museum retail stores.

Republicans are hardly known for their success with black voters, but Jim Edgar proved an exception when elected governor in 1990. He recruited minorities and women for top positions. And Rogers became Illinois' lottery director.

She had other GOP links as well. John Rogers' mother, Jewel LaFontant-Mankarious, was deputy solicitor general in the Nixon administration and an ambassador-at-large under President George H.W. Bush. In 1992, Desiree Rogers was an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

At the lottery, Rogers earned a reputation as driven and self-confident. She launched new games and gained celebrity appearing often on television as the face of the lottery. In 1997, she joined Peoples Gas.

Rogers left Peoples last year, briefly working on a social networking initiative for Allstate Insurance before joining the Obama administration.

White House observers said it's rare for social secretaries to actually take a seat at a state dinner, as Rogers did. She posed for the cameras when entering the White House on the night of Nov. 24. "We are very excited," she said. "Everything looks great."

Sticklers for protocol said even her speaking in the first person -- rather than speaking for the Obamas -- was a faux pas.

Rogers, though, has won admirers. Hair stylist Ron Clemente remembers last spring when she came into a Georgetown salon where she has had her nails done, and gave employees tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll.

His take? "She is fabulous in every direction, very stylish without being overdone, very sophisticated without being overbearing. Approachable."





Friends And Colleagues Defend Desiree Rogers


White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers came under attack after a Virginia couple crashed President Obama's first state dinner, but her friends and colleagues are fighting back.

People close to Rogers strongly dispute the emerging caricature of her as a spotlight-seeking diva who invited herself to the dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and skirted her responsibilities while she was there.

A source with knowledge of the evening's events tells the Huffington Post that, other than about five minutes "to pick at her salad," Rogers spent the entire evening coordinating and working the event. She was spotted and photographed in the rope line preceding the dinner, but the source said that was only after completing frantic, last-second planning for the high-profile affair.

Prepping all day on Tuesday, she changed into her outfit just 30 minutes before the state dinner started, the source added. And she was "shadowing" the president and first lady at a separate private reception for roughly 20 people shortly after arriving.

"What are the odds she was going to be lackadaisical at the biggest moment of her life?" the source asked. "Zero. That's why these stories don't make any sense. Her reputation is at stake."

The source spoke in defense of Rogers because the social secretary had been told not to speak to the press. "I think the way it is being characterize and the way it is coming off that she is too big a personality for the White House, it just doesn't make sense," the source said.

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was peppered with questions about Rogers's performance and capacity for the job. One questioner asked whether there was concern within the administration that Rogers was too high-profile for the post. "What about the issues of her being in fashion spreads early on in the administration? Did you put the brakes on that?" Gibbs dismissed those questions.

Still, questions over how the Virginia couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, skirted security and reached the president unimpeded persist. And while Rogers may have been an active presence at the dinner, members of the press and lawmakers on the Hill are demanding more information about the role her office played in helping enforce security that evening.

Rogers has declined to testify before Congress about her role in planning the event and staffing officials at security locations. Gibbs cited the separation of powers and a history of White House staff not testifying before Congress for that decision.

Appearing on ABC News on Thursday, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, a close friend of Rogers, concluded that the White House had now "answered the questions fully."

The White House has, since the snafu, implemented a new policy that would require that a White House staffer be dispatched to each entrance during such high-profiled affairs.



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Sources: Chicago Tribune, MSNBC, Politico, Huffington Post, Black Snob, Google Maps