"House Republicans voted Thursday to hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress -- a historical first -- for failing to provide certain documents they sought relating to the Justice Department's botched Fast and Furious operation. The vote came after months of threats by Republicans warning they would make the dramatic move if Holder didn't give them the documents they wanted, without condition, a process that Democrats and the administration have dismissed as a political stunt. In the end, President Barack Obama invoked executive privilege and directed Holder not to release certain documents for legal reasons. The contempt vote happened anyway.
But for all the GOP fireworks, Carney said that Holder won't be prosecuted for the criminal charge.
"It is an established principle, dating back to the administration of President Ronald Reagan, that the Justice Department does not pursue prosecution in a contempt case when the President has asserted executive privilege," Carney told reporters in a gaggle aboard Air Force One.
"The assertion of executive privilege makes the contempt matter moot, if you will. I mean, I’m not a lawyer, so I'm probably not using quite the precise language. But it is my understanding, and I would refer you to the Justice Department, that dating back to the administration of President Reagan that prosecutions will not take place under this, in this circumstance."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/eric-holder-contempt-charge-prosecution_n_1638420.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003
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