Developing Stories

Tareq and Michaele Salahi have lawyered up with Lisa Bloom, who fired off an email to the cast of the show, telling them there has been an exhaustive investigative study of the famous White House dinner. The conclusion: "The Salahis did not 'crash' the White House dinner, nor the Black Caucus dinner."

Bloom goes on to say, "It is simply a false statement of fact, and defamatory, to call the Salahis 'party crashers,' as it suggests they have committed crimes."

Bloom then threatens legal actions if the girls dare use the words.

Eric George sent a letter to Dan Horowitz Tuesday -- a copy of which Horowitz gave to TMZ -- in which George mentions Horowitz's "veritable media blitz you recently initiated ..."

George takes issue with Horowitz's statement that Oksana signed the mediation agreement "because she was threatened and told she would go to jail, be deported and lose immediate possession of her children." George says there was "never any threat or comment of any such nature ever discussed ..."

And George is ticked at Horowitz's comment that the mediation is "morally ambiguous."

George tells Horowitz to "cease and desist" with the false statements.

Here's what's really interesting -- George mentions ... by talking about the mediation, he could be blowing up the attorney-client privilege for Oksana, which could really be interesting if George is allowed to tell the whole story.

Earlier today Whitman suggested the housekeeper, Nicky Diaz Santillan, may have intercepted the letter and never given it to Whitman and her husband. Whitman says she never got the letter.

But today, Gloria produced the letter with what she says is a written command from Meg's husband -- "Nicky, please check this."

Earlier today Whitman said she would take a polygraph test -- but Gloria says Nicky doesn't have to take a polygraph test because she has the letter as proof, and "the evidence speaks for itself."

As for Whitman's claim that Gloria is working with Jerry Brown to engineer a smear campaign -- Gloria says she has not made any contribution to Brown's current campaign and hasn't had any contact recently with Brown or his people.

As we just reported, Mel's lawyers have submitted a settlement proposal to Robyn... and her lawyers are "optimistic" they can reach a settlement.

But we're told there are still outstanding issues, including something called "good will." It sounds strange, but the good will of a famous person is considered an asset in a marriage -- something that has commercial value. In the past Mel had a lot of good will that translated into being able to make movies that people would pay to see.

But after Mel's 2006 and 2010 rants, the good will has evaporated if not disappeared. As a result ... the asset has been greatly devalued.

We're told one of the issues is whether Mel should have to pay Robyn for squandering his good will.

Lindsay checked in Monday -- and as we previously reported, the plan is for her to stay put in rehab at least until her probation violation hearing on October 22.

It's gonna run Lindsay a pretty penny too -- according to their website, 30 days of inpatient care at BF runs $26,000.

It all went down as paparazzi swarmed the car as Paris and Cy Waits left Boa in West Hollywood. The posse of paparazzi was all over the car, when suddenly Cy accelerated, knocking a photog down.

The couple took off after the hit and the photog called the cops. Paramedics were also called and took the female photog to a local hospital.

We're told at some point later, Cy came back, sans Paris, and spoke with police.

Law enforcement sources tell us Cy was cited for hit-and-run, then allowed to leave.

And get this ... sources say Paris is saying, "The pap is making up injuries."

Law enforcement sources also tell us they're looking into all of the photogs, because flashing the lights could have blinded the driver ... which may constitute interfering with the operation of a motor vehicle -- which is also a crime.

UPDATE: Sources close to Cy tell us ... Waits is adamant that he was not cited for hit-and-run. Instead, Waits believes the photographer placed him under citizen's arrest -- and cops were obligated to sign the citizen's arrest form.

Greg had been hospitalized in New Brunswick, NJ after he overdosed on prescription pills last weekend. A source said the overdose was not a suicide attempt.

TMZ has obtained what is believed to be one of the last photos of Giraldo -- taken at the Stress Factory comedy club in New Brunswick, NJ on Friday September 24 ... the night before he OD'd.

Giraldo was best known for his celebrity roast appearances. He had also been a judge on "Last Comic Standing."

A source close to Greg tells us, "Greg passed away today at the hospital in New Brunswick as a result of an accidental overdose. His family was by his side."

We're told plans are being made for a public memorial service.

• Greg Giraldo -- OD'd, But No Suicide Attempt

Michael met with attorney David Chon (left) today and will hire him to file conservatorship papers ... Chon specializes in trusts and estates.

We're told Michael has enough sense to know the judge isn't going to make him the conservator, so he has two other people in mind ... though he's not saying who.

Michael is saying, he doesn't want Dina Lohan or Lindsay's business manager, Lou Taylor, to handle Lindsay's affairs because "they're in it for themselves."

"DWTS" producers tell us, "While we respect the feelings of our celebrities and dancers, we don’t feel Bruno should be expected to apologize for doing his job.”

As you probably heard, Bruno told Bolton that his jive was the worst jive he's ever seen -- and Bolton responded by calling the judge "inappropriate and disrespectful."

But show producers note, "Bruno’s role as a judge is to give his honest opinions on the quality of the dances he’s judging, which is what he did in this case."

The documents, which Whitman claims Nicky filled out and signed back in 2000 during her application for employment, appear to show that the maid stated under the penalty of perjury that she was a "lawful permanent resident" of the United States.

Whitman also claims Nicky provided her with a social security card and valid California Driver's License with her employment application ... which Meg kept and has now handed over to TMZ.

Whitman has also issued a statement on the matter, saying ... "After 9 years of faithful service, Nicky came to us in June 2009 and confessed that she was an illegal worker." Whitman continues, "Nicky has falsified the hiring documents and personal information she provided to the employment agency that brought her to us in 2000."

And, Whitman continues, "I believe Nicky is being manipulated by Gloria Allred for political and financial purposes during the last few weeks of a hotly contested election."

Nicky Diaz Santillan, Whitman's housekeeper of 9 years, held a news conference with her lawyer, Gloria Allred, and claims Whitman had all the clues she was an undocumented worker but closed her eyes to it because she was cheap help ... $23 an hour.

Allred claims the housekeeper was "exploited, disrespected, humiliated and emotionally and financially abused" by Whitman.

Allred claims when the housekeeper was hired 9 years ago through an agency, Whitman never asked if she was in the U.S. legally. And, during her employment, Santillan told Whitman she couldn't travel to Mexico. And, Allred said, Whitman found out Santillan's Social Security number didn't match her name, but Whitman did nothing. Allred said it's the classic case of "don't ask, don't tell."

That all changed, Allred says, when Whitman launched her campaign for Governor, realizing having an illegal alien on board was a liability ... and fired her.

Santillan says Whitman treated her "like a piece of garbage" by letting her go.

Allred says Santillan is filing a claim with the Labor Commission for back wages and mileage.

Yesterday, Whitman said in the debate with Jerry Brown that employers should be held accountable for hiring undocumented workers.

Oksana Grigorieva says, "I've never been afraid of extortion charges because there is none."

Hollywood.TV got video of Oksana leaving a grocery store yesterday when she was asked about allegations she tried to extort Mel Gibson.

Daniel Horowitz, one of Oksana's lawyers, tells TMZ, Dan O'Malley (pictured above) is now on board to advise his team on domestic violence issues. Specifically, Horowitz says O'Malley will "hook up people in the domestic violence community to help Oksana," as well as "interface with the L.A. County District Attorney regarding the Mel Gibson domestic violence investigation."

But here's the deal. If O'Malley wins the election for D.A. of Contra Costa County in November, he must resign.

Sources connected with the mediation tell us ... Oksana was open about it back in May ... she gave her younger sister, Natalie, the recordings within weeks of February 18 -- when Oksana recorded Mel.

The recordings became public in July and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, among others, are trying to determine who leaked the tapes and who, if anyone, got paid.

We told you yesterday ... Lindsay was checking into a Southern California rehab facility. Well she's now there.

The plan is for Lindsay to stay at least until the next court hearing on October 22.

TMZ just received a statement from the Brown family -- saying, "We are disappointed in the announcement of an investigation, but when we decided to do this show, we knew there would be risks."

The family continues, "But for the sake of our family, and most importantly, our kids, we felt it was a risk worth taking."

Yesterday, the Lehi Police Department in Utah announced that the family is being investigated for felony bigamy ... and plans to turn over all evidence to the Utah County Attorney's Office for review and possible prosecution.