An election-year tactic intended to distract attention

Fast and Furious scandal: Obama exerts executive privilege; House panel moves forward with Holder contempt vote

By Ed O’Keefe and Sari Horwitz, WashPost, Updated: Wednesday, June 20, 9:33 AM

President Obama asserted executive privilege over documents related to the “Fast and Furious” operation Wednesday as a House panel moved to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt after he failed to hand over documents related to a congressional inquiry into the scandal.

In a letter sent to Obama late Tuesday, Holder urged Obama to exert executive privilege, because sharing internal documents with lawmakers could "have significant, damaging consequences.”

Sharing the documents “would inhibit candor of such Executive Branch deliberations in the future and significantly impair the Executive Branch’s ability to respond independently and effectively to congressional oversight,” Holder wrote to Obama.

In response, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said at the start of Wednesday’s hearing that he learned of Obama’s decision early Wednesday and said the move “falls short of any reason to delay today’s proceedings.”

(More here.)