The Volokh Conspiracy:  “America’s most successful party crashers, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, who stormed the gates of a White House state dinner and somehow managed to get in, may soon be facing criminal charges, according to the Secret Service.   Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin says the agency is moving closer to beginning a criminal investigation.  He says that’s one reason the Secret Service hasn’t yet explained what happened when Michaele and Tareq Salahi arrived at the security checkpoint Tuesday for the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.   One likely charge is 18 U.S.C. § 1036, “-“Entry by false pretenses to any real property, vessel, or aircraft of the United States or secure area of any airport or seaport,’ which prohibits:”

(b)  Whoever, by any fraud or false pretense, enters or attempts to enter–

(1) any real property belonging in whole or in part to, or leased by, the United States;

(2) any vessel or aircraft belonging in whole or in part to, or leased by, the United States;

(3) any secure or restricted area of any seaport, designated as secure in an approved security plan, as required under section 70103 of title 46, United States Code, and the rules and regulations promulgated under that section; or

(4) any secure area of any airport,

shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(b)  The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) of this section is–

(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if the offense is committed with the intent to commit a felony; or

(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both, in any other case.

(c) As used in this section–

(1) the term “secure area” means an area access to which is restricted by the airport authority, captain of the seaport, or a public agency; and

(2) the term “airport” has the meaning given such term in section 47102 of title 49.

See also “False Statements Law Looms for White House Crashers” and a Wall St. Journal story called “Senators Look to Punish White House Intruders, But How?“

Update – Matt Lauer interview with the Salahis on NBC’s Today show:  “Salahis: ‘We were invited, not crashers.’

Wall St. Journal:  “Our interest in a single Supreme Court case has perhaps never been as high as it is in a case currently being briefed.  The issues are fascinating on several levels, and the potential impact of a ruling is big.   The case is McDonald v. City of Chicago, for which the court granted cert on Sept. 30.  The petitioners in the case, a group challenging a gun-control ordinance in Chicago, filed their brief with the court earlier this week.  Were the court to adopt their position — something well within the realm of possibility — we could be looking at a significant shift in the way the justices view the Constitution and individual rights.”

Arizona Business Gazette:  “Some new changes in federal law will require employers to provide free time off to workers in more situations. . . . companies that don’t alter their policies to comply could find themselves in hot water.  Key to the issue is the Family Medical Leave Act, a 1993 federal law that requires employers with at least 50 workers to grant 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period under certain circumstances and without fear of being fired.”