President Obama Invokes Executive Privilege to Hold onto “Fast and Furious” Documents

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President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama has asserted executive privilege in response to requests made by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, who has embarked on a controversial investigation into the Department of Justice’s Operation Fast and Furious gun-running program.

The invocation of executive privilege allows the president to defy requests and subpoenas by members of the legislative and judicial branches for information the White House deems sensitive.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), questioned the White House’s move Wednesday in a statement:

“Until now, everyone believed that the decisions regarding ‘Fast and Furious’ were confined to the Department of Justice,” Steel said. “The White House decision to invoke executive privilege 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?”

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer shot back, accusing Republicans of pursuing a politically motivated and misguided attack on the administration.

17 COMMENTS

  1. “I refuse to answer on the grounds it may incriminate me”. …… always makes the involker sound guilty

    • The President can just pardon himself and Holder who raised over $500,000 for him in 2008. He ain’t guilty if he invokes a pardon for himself is he.

      • I don’t believe a president can just pardon himself, sir. If that were the case, why did Nixon wait for Ford to pardon him?

  2. Surprise, the CP has no article about the gun runner in chief pulling a Nixon trick. Barack Nixon is covering his own arse.

    • Really, and Iran-Contra never happened? Reagan never sold arms to fund guerrillas? Oh that’s right, “he didn’t know anything about it…”

      • The sins of the past do not justify the sins of the present. I did not know that Obama was channeling Reagan nowadays.

  3. I think it’s interesting to see the brainwashed lefties argue with the brainwashed righties over whose fake heroes were more corrupt.

    The truth is, with only a couple of possible exceptions, every American President for the last 100 years has been corrupt, yes Republicans, even Reagan, and yes Democrats, even FDR.

  4. a government elected by the people for the people and accountable to the people…transparency? none here…the constitution is being systematically disassembled in front of our eyes – heading from a democracy into tyranny…recall JFK’s speech about secrets…

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