President Barack Obama invoked executive privilege on Wednesday for the first time since taking office to withhold certain Justice Department documents tied to the flawed "Operation Fast and Furious" gun-smuggling investigation from lawmakers demanding them.
Obama's 11th-hour decision, revealed in a letter from the Justice Department to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, did not derail the California Republican's plans to hold a vote declaring Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
"I write now to inform you that the President has asserted executive privilege" over the documents, Deputy Attorney General James Cole told Issa in a letter released by the White House.
"Although we are deeply disappointed that the Committee appears intent on proceeding with a contempt vote, the Department remains willing to work with the Committee to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues," Cole wrote in the letter.
