President Obama (Paul J. Richards / AFP Getty Images)
By Richard A. Serrano
WASHINGTON
— Just as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was
about to vote Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress for failing to
comply with a subpoena for documents in the flawed Fast and Furious
gun-tracking case, President Obama asserted executive privilege and
backed up the attorney general’s position in refusing to turn over the
material.
The
fast-moving events Wednesday morning at the White House and on Capitol
Hill significantly ratcheted up a growing constitutional clash between
the two branches of the federal government, one that ultimately may not
be resolved until it reaches the courts.
The
Republican-led committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), will
ask the full House for a floor vote holding Holder in contempt and
requesting the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., or a special
prosecutor to force the attorney general to produce the documents.
“The
committee has uncovered serious wrongdoing by the Justice Department,”
Issa said of his investigation into Fast and Furious, in which several
thousand firearms were deliberately circulated along the Southwest
border and ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. “That
wrongdoing has cost lives on both sides of the border.”
Moments
before the committee hearing, the White House announced that Obama had
formally exerted executive privilege in the matter, giving Holder cover
from releasing the material to the committee.
“We
regret that we have arrived at this point,” Deputy Atty. Gen. James M.
Cole told Issa in a letter that arrived on the Hill just before the
committee went into session.
He
said making the documents public “would have significant, damaging
consequences,” but he did not disclose whether Obama has been briefed or
had another supervisory role in Fast and Furious.
In
a separate letter that Holder wrote to Obama shortly before the
committee session, asking for executive privilege, the attorney general
said he had “concluded that you may properly assert executive privilege
over the documents at issue, and I respectfully request you do so.”
Holder also did not mention any involvement by Obama in Fast and
Furious.
According
to the Obama White House, President George W. Bush asserted executive
privilege six times during his two terms, and President Bill Clinton 14
times during his eight years in Washington.
“In
fact,” said Eric Schultz, an Obama White House spokesman, “dating back
to President Reagan, presidents have asserted executive privilege 24
times. President Obama has gone longer without asserting the privilege
in a congressional dispute than any president in the last three
decades.”
Republicans said Obama's move raises serious questions.
Sen.
Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked
how Obama could assert executive privilege "if there is no White House
involvement?"
A
spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said Obama's move "implies that
White House officials were either involved in the 'Fast and Furious'
operation or the cover-up that followed."
"The
administration has always insisted that wasn't the case. Were they
lying, or are they now bending the law to hide the truth?" Brendan Buck
said.
Staff writer Michael A. Memoli contributed to this report
P.S.
I Wonder: How many fundraiser stops (and teleprompter photo-ops) the president will have today?
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