Ed Henry: Why Did Obama Invoke Executive Privilege on Holder Fast & Furious Emails?

Ed Henry vs. Earnest: Why Did Obama Invoke Executive Privilege on Holder Fast & Furious Emails? (RealClearPolitics)

ED HENRY: The conservative group Judicial Watch has just put out a statement yesterday I believe saying that the president months ago invoked executive privilege on Fast & Furious included 20 e-mails between the Attorney General, his wife, and his mother. And I was wondering, did the Attorney General talk about this sensitive gun-running operation with his wife and his mother and that's why you had to invoke executive privilege?

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE: Well, Ed, I refer you to the Department of Justice.

HENRY: It wasn't Department of Justice privilege, it was executive privilege. It was invoked by the president, not the Attorney General.

EARNEST: I can tell you that it's the Department of Justice that can discuss those e-mails with you.

What is clear is that this lawsuit that has been filed by Judicial Watch actually doesn't have anything to do with the actual Fast & Furious operation. It has to do with e-mails and documents related to the operation. More than 7,500 pages of those documents have already been turned over to Congress, which obviously has thoroughly reviewed this situation. They've conducted countless interviews. the Inspector General has as well. This is something that has been thoroughly investigated.

HENRY: But if there was nothing sensitive in the e-mails that the Attorney General sent to his wife and mom, presumably they could have been turned over.

EARNEST: Well, I know that, again, 7,500 pages of documents were turned over both to the Inspector General as well as to Democrats and Republicans in Congress who were investigating this issue. So, we have demonstrated I think a pretty clear commitment to legitimate oversight on this matter and others.