The Obama administration is asserting executive privilege in refusing to turn over documents to Congress related to the Fast and Furious
scandal, a major escalation in a clash between the White House and Hill
Republicans just hours before a House committee votes to hold Attorney
General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
The move by President Barack Obama
is similar to battles between President George W. Bush and Democrats
over the extent of presidential power, and sets up a much more serious
debate over the authority of the executive and legislative branches as
it relates to the botched gun surveillance program, which allowed
Mexican drug cartels to obtain roughly 2,000 weapons from U.S. gun
dealers.
The dispute over Fast and Furious, and the Holder-Issa showdown, adds
more fuel to the already heated partisan atmosphere on Capitol Hill.
Democrats slammed Rep. Darrell Issa
(R-Calif.), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee,
for his handling of the probe, saying it has turned into a personal
power struggle between him and Holder.
