White House Stonewalls Gatecrasher Probe (VIDEO)

From the Politico, "White House to Desiree Rogers Critics: Back Off":

If White House social secretary Desiree Rogers survives this week's withering attacks over her role in last week's state dinner security breach, she'll have gotten by with a lot of help from her friends in the West Wing.

As a House committee opened hearings Thursday on how two uninvited partygoers were able to enter the White House grounds and shake hands with President Barack Obama, top presidential aides delivered a clear message to critics of this favored staffer: Back off.

In a White House not known for its tolerance of staffing errors, Rogers has been the beneficiary of an unprecedented show of support from senior administration officials. A former corporate executive from Chicago, Rogers has known the Obamas for more than a decade and seems blessed with a status that may shield her from the fate of departing White House counsel Greg Craig or Louis Caldera, the Military Office head who was canned for a botched Air Force One photo op.

Rogers's office started taking heat last week after it was reported that the White House did not station staff members at the security checkpoint to help the Secret Service screen guests at the state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as has been customary in previous administrations. When the House Homeland Security Committee invited Rogers to testify about how Tareq and Michaele Salahi managed to reach Obama unimpeded, the White House declined to make Rogers available and said its internal report on the incident would suffice.

"We think we've answered the questions fully," senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, a close friend of Rogers from Chicago, said on ABC News on Thursday. "We think it's important to have a balance and have the White House staff able to have confidential conversations with the president and his team without appearing before Congress."

For the second day in a row, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that the administration had no intention of making Rogers available for lawmakers' questions, brushing off the charge by Rep Peter King (R-N.Y.), the Homeland Security committee’s ranking member, that the administration was "stonewalling" the congressional probe.

"There's, I think, a pretty long history of ensuring that White House staff can provide advice to the president and do so confidentially," Gibbs said.

Acknowledging that White House staff members have testified at congressional hearings before, Gibbs said the current probe should not require a level of cooperation reminiscent of investigations into the Watergate and Whitewater scandals or the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I don't think even Peter King would have the audacity to, in some way, put the Salahis in the trifecta of Watergate, 9/11 or some of the financial dealings," Gibbs said. "If that's the case, then maybe I have been here and just haven't quite seen it all."

Listen to Rep. King on GMA this morning above. He's especially pissed with Robert Gibbs' righteous insouciance.

See also, Memeorandum.

Plus, Jennifer Rubin, "Privileged, Indeed":

This is all quite at odds with the Democrats’ past eight years of foot-stomping and insistence that the Bush White House had to provide advisers (real ones, who advised on more than menus and guest lists) for testimony. (”Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Conyers must feel particularly double-crossed because they were the principal sponsors of a lawsuit filed in an effort to compel testimony and documents from Ms. Miers, Mr. Rove, and others concerning the U.S. attorney controversy.”)

Congress may be inclined to let this slide. But they do so at their institutional peril. The Obami are apparently serious, and Congress, unless it wants to set some new precedent, should be wary about letting the White House get away with a stunt like this. “We don’t want to embarrass our Chicago friend” simply isn’t a good enough reason to stiff Congress.

Also, Big Dog, "Obama Invokes Executive Privilege; Where Is The Outraged Left?"

RELATED: Hot Air, "White House invokes separation of powers to block testimony of … social secretary."