TVSpy
In their first television interview since the White House state dinner, Tareq and Michaele Salahi emphasized that they were not party crashers while Matt Lauer emphasized that NBC did not pay for the exclusive conversation broadcast on the “Today” show this morning.
There have been rumors floating around over the last few days that the Salahis were looking for a six-figure payday in exchange for a television interview and this was obviously on Lauer’s mind as he began the interview by asking the couple, “Are we paying you for this appearance in any way?” Both Mr. and Mrs. Salahi answered “No” and Michaele went on to state that they were not seeking payment, saying, “At no time, Matt, have we ever even talked about doing that with anyone.”
Throughout the interview, the Salahis stressed the emotional toll that all of the media exposure and Party Crasher criticism has had on them. “This has been the most devastating thing that’s ever happened to us,” Mr. Salahi said and his wife added, “Our lives have been destroyed.”
Because of an ongoing White House investigation, the Salahis were reportedly forbidden to go into specific details about the night but they denied that they “crashed the party,” as many news outlets have reported. Michaele stated simply, “We were invited, not crashers.” (Video here)