The Sleuth - Mary Ann Akers ... behind the scenes in Washington - January 18, 2009

Congress's Top Security Officer Admits Inaugural Security Breach

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer, Congress's top law enforcement official who was in charge of security at President Obama's swearing-in ceremony, now acknowledges the so-called "purple tunnel of doom" on inauguration day was a major security breach. "I now realize how dangerous it was in that tunnel," he tells the Sleuth. Gainer called the Sleuth today to say that because of our posting from Friday he...

Survivors of Inauguration's Purple Tunnel of Doom Demand Answers

(Screengrab -- Facebook) Three days after the inauguration, people are still seething over what has been dubbed "Purplegate" and the "Purple Tunnel of Doom" Ticket holders to the purple section of President Obama's swearing-in ceremony are still seeking an explanation from the Capitol Police and congressional inaugural committee officials for why thousands of them were shut out of their designated area, where they would...

Grande Finale of Inauguralpalooza: God, Gays and Gaza

The fifth and final night of inaugural partying was like a cork popping off a champagne bottle. The inner party animal in thousands of revelers came out. But this being Washington, there was just as much energy put into celebrating as there was debating what Barack Obama will do now that he's president - namely about the Middle East and the economy. At the Google...

Inaugural Balls With the Sleuth

The way we feel, it seems like weeks ago that the inaugural partying began. But it's only the fifth night. And alas, the final night of drinking, dancing and - for the Sleuth - tweeting the night away to culminate the celebration of the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States. Tonight, the Sleuth will bring you updates from a couple of fun...

Set List for Tonight's Dead Show Inaugural Concert

A little bird with close ties to the Dead tells the Sleuth you're in for a real treat tonight if you're among the lucky Deadheads holding tickets to tonight's Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball. Among the songs they're planning: Touch of Grey, U.S. Blues and Uncle John's Band. Can you feel it yet? It'll be a short show, of course, not a full concert. As the Sleuth...

Inauguralpalooza Night Four: Sting and Every Breath You Take

Several thousand of Arianna Huffington's closest friends rang in Inauguration Day at the Newseum last night like a giant New Year's Eve party, where the highlight was a live concert by Sting, Sheryl Crow and will.i.am. The sea of humanity - mostly media types, incoming Obama administration officials, movie stars (Ben Affleck, Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack, Sharon Stone, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore...

Inauguration Monday at the HuffPo Ball

The Sleuth will feed you live updates tonight from the Huffingtonpost ball, where Sting is slated to perform live, along with will.i.am and Sheryl Crow. Tons of celebrities, politicos, and star gazers are expected to be there. Not following us yet? Sign up now on Twitter. #twitter_div h2 { background-color: transparent; color: #C00; font: bold 12px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase; margin: 0 0 1px...

Biden's Decades Old Plagiarism Chapter Closes With Inauguration

Joe Biden's embarrassing little plagiarism incident 20 years ago, a gaffe that cost him the 1988 presidential race, will get some long overdue closure on inauguration day. Scheduled to be sitting in the audience to watch Biden take the oath of office to assume the vice presidency will be none other than former British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock, whose borrowed speeches became the bane...

Latino Stars, Pols Gather for Their First Inaugural Ball

By Ed O'Keefe UNION STATION -- More than 4,000 people packed the lobby of Washington's main train station Sunday night and most seemed interested in seeing Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and President-elect Barack Obama. Well, two out of three ain't bad. The Latin power couple hit the red carpet at exactly 8 p.m. ET, fielding softballs from entertainment reporters before slipping away to the VIP...

Inauguralpalooza Night Three: Oprah, Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson...

Squeezing into Maureed Dowd's jam-packed cocktail party Sunday night was too much for Tom Hanks to handle. He opened the door to her narrow Georgetown home, looked aghast at the hordes of guests (yours truly included) sweating shoulder-to-shoulder on all three levels and walked away. Too bad he didn't have the security entourage Oprah Winfrey had, or he could have cleared a path --...

Inauguration Sunday With the Sleuth

Today's "We Are One" concert officially kicked off the inauguration festivities, and as the we roll into the evening, the celebratory events will move into high gear. We'll be hitting more parties tonight, tomorrow and Inauguration Night and beginning today, we'll give you the low down straight from the hot spots via our Twitter feed below. Not following us yet? Sign up now on Twitter....

Obama Inauguralpalooza, Night Two; Oprah on Deck Tonight

We saw Bo Derek again last night at another pre-inaugural party and now we know: she has a thing for Jewish guys. A thing for not-very-tall Jewish journalists to be exact. Derek, a Republican who says she voted for Barack Obama, has been a fixture on the inaugural party circuit. We first ran into her at Café Milano on Friday night, and again last night...

The Sleuth: January 18, 2009 - January 24, 2009