ALLEGED WHITE HOUSE CRASHERS ‘SICK’ OF MEDIA REPORTS

The so-called White House party crashers were greeted with boos and thumbs-down gestures Saturday in their debut as Las Vegas celebrity hosts.

The booing started when Tareq and Michaele Salahi were addressing the packed Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace about midnight shortly after their low-key arrival.

Tareq Salahi had just told the crowd that he and his wife had waived the appearance fee when the first boos were heard. They continued when he asked the crowd to join them in supporting the earthquake victims in Haiti by donating a dollar at the door for “the poor children” and other survivors.

Their brief address ended with Michaele Salahi taking the microphone and telling the crowd, “And we love you.”

The Virginia couple did not return to the DJ booth.

They partied with friends on the main V.I.P. stage, drinking Veuve Clicquot champagne.

About 2:30 a.m., shortly after his wife called it a night, Tareq Salahi began a conversation with Vegas Confidential, expressing dismay at the public perception that they “crashed” the White House party.

He suggested they’ve gotten a bad rap, adding, “We’re sick of it.”

He slammed reports that they went to the White House to crash the November state dinner in hopes of parlaying the publicity into a spot on the reality show “The Real Housewives of D.C.”

His wife, he said, was selected to be one of the housewives more than a year ago, yet reports continue to surface that they were trying to angle an audition.

“My wife was never involved in an audition,” he said.

“We were invited to the White House and that will come out. There’s a reason why the White House isn’t pushing the story. There’s your big story.”

They have been summoned to appear before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday but they plan to invoke the Fifth Amendment, according to a report.

--NORM CLARKE, Vegas Confidential