President Obama has granted an 11th-hour request by Attorney General Eric Holder to exert executive privilege over Fast & Furious documents, a last-minute maneuver that appears unlikely to head off a contempt vote against Holder by Republicans in the House.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was informed of the president's decision in a letter Wednesday morning, shortly before the contempt vote was scheduled.

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

The House Oversight & Government Reform Committee appears to be charging ahead with a high-drama contempt vote against Eric Holder, after Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), said the attorney generally failed to produce the documents he requested for the probe into the Justice Department's botched Fast & Furious operation.

The House Oversight & Government Reform Committee is scheduled to meet at 10am ET on Wednesday. Barring a last-minute document dump from Holder, lawmakers are poised to vote on a contempt resolution following debate this morning.

If the vote proceeds, Republicans have more than enough votes on committee to pass the resolution. However, Holder would not be considered to be held in contempt of Congress unless and until the full House approves the measure.

Issa and Holder have been going back and forth since last week over Issa's request for documents. Issa indicated a willingness to postpone the vote after Holder indicated a willingness to make compromises and supply some documents in response to House Republicans' subpoena.

But Issa told reporters after a roughly 20-minute meeting with Holder Tuesday that the attorney general instead briefed them on the documents in lieu of delivering them.

Issa told FOX News that Holder didn't provide "anything in writing," and said the family of murdered Border Patrol agent Brian Terry wants the documents as much as he does.

"We want the documents. Brian Terry's family would like the documents that are responsive to how in fact their son was gunned down with weapons that came from lawful dealers but at the...behest of the Justice Department," Issa told Fox News.

Weapons from the Fast & Furious anti-gunrunning operation were found at Terry's murder scene.

Issa suggested earlier Tuesday that the vote could still be up in the air.

"The deadline will always move to the last minute," said Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "We're not looking to hold people responsible. We're looking for document production"...

Holder said Issa rejected what he thought was "an extraordinary offer...We offered the documents that we thought would resolve the subpoenas," he said. "The ball is in their court."

The contempt vote in the oversight committee will likely pass considering Republicans outnumber Democrats 22 to 16.

GOP House leadership has given Issa the green light to proceed how he sees fit, sources told FOX News, which suggests the vote would reach the House floor.

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Editor's Note: The fact that Pres. Obama exerted Executive Privilege over documents in the Fast & Furious oversight examination, lends credence to the idea that the Oval Office new much more about the failed ATF operation then they are willing to share with the American people. At this point, this scandal is reaching Watergate seriousness.


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