President Obama pushes Nuke button on Fast and Furious Documents, Issa goes ahead with contempt vote and gets it

I saw this coming and I was right!

Rep. Darrell Issa pressed ahead with a committee vote Wednesday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, despite an eleventh-hour move by President Obama to assert executive privilege over the Fast and Furious documents at the heart of the dispute.

The announcement touched off a caustic debate on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that lasted well into the afternoon, as Democrats accused Issa of prosecuting a “political witch hunt” and Republicans stepped up their criticism of Holder’s “stonewalling” over the Fast and Furious probe. Even for Washington, the tone at the hearing was decidedly bitter and accusatory.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was first informed of the president’s decision to assert executive privilege in a letter Wednesday morning, shortly before the contempt vote was scheduled.

Issa said committee staff are evaluating the letter but described the move as too little, too late as he and other GOP lawmakers questioned the basis for the assertion.

“This untimely assertion by the Justice Department falls short of any reason to delay today’s proceedings,” Issa said.

via Issa pushes ahead with Holder contempt vote despite Obama intervention | Fox News.

Nancy Pelosi is not happy:

Pelosi sounded off on the ordeal ahead of the committee vote.

“This is just strictly political,” she said. “It’s just the irresponsibility of the Republicans. We want jobs. Why are they spending this time doing this?”

The Democratic leader also took a shot at Issa for abusing the process of holding an official in contempt.

“‘Loose cannon’ would sort of be like such a compliment to Darrell Issa. ‘Loose cannon’ would be a moderate phrase. This is an explosive device,” she said. “It doesn’t serve our country, and it undermines the true purpose of contempt of Congress.”

“That’s why I didn’t arrest Karl Rove when I had the chance.”

Issa got his vote though…:

A House panel voted Wednesday to place Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a subpoena, defying an assertion of executive privilege from President Obama.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Republican Chairman Darrell Issa (Calif.), approved a resolution along party lines to place Holder in contempt after battling him for months over access to internal agency documents about the gun-tracking operation Fast and Furious.

The vote came after Obama escalated the conflict by sending a letter to the committee claiming executive privilege over the documents that the panel had sought.

All 23 Republicans on the committee voted for the contempt resolution, while all 17 Democrats voted against it. Every member of the panel was present for the vote.

The Daily Kos reminds us:

If the House committee actually cites Holder for criminal contempt, it would require House Speaker John A. Boehner to schedule a vote. If passed by the full House, the matter would then wind up in the hands of the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ronald C. Machen Jr.

President George W. Bush asserted executive privilege six times during his terms of office while President Bill Clinton did so 14 times. This would be the first time for President Obama.

Which President Obama did condemn: (Via Macsmind)

…..and now, President Obama is doing the same very thing. Seems there is something to that whole, “New Boss, same as the old boss” thing eh? I think so and I am sure many of my libertarian friends agree with that too.  As you can tell, I was not a fan of Bush and I am really not a fan of this President either.

Others Bloggers covering this: Michelle Malkin, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, JOSHUAPUNDIT, NO QUARTER, iOwnTheWorld.com, RedState, nation.foxnews.com, Sister Toldjah, Weasel Zippers, The Shark Tank, Pirate’s Cove, The Rightnewz, Weekly Standard, Pundit & Pundette, Jammie Wearing Fools, Macsmind and Sense of Events — Via Memeorandum