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Fast and Furious case reminiscent of Watergate?

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    Comparing use of executive privilege

  • Duration 2:29
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Our top story the bottom of the hour white house Press Secretary Jay Carney is vigorously defending president Obama's.

Invoking of executive privilege regarding some documents in the fast and furious -- House speaker John Boehner vowed to push the full house to.

Hold attorney general -- -- in contempt of congress next week.

Chief Washington correspondent James Rosen looks at how this president's use of executive privilege compares with another much more famous case.

On Capitol Hill there's no cover up here there's no twenty minutes but taped it's been wiped out and at the White House yeah.

It.

Don't hurt -- -- Absolutely the debate over President Obama -- assertion of executive privilege in fast and furious carries echoes of Watergate.

When Republican president Richard Nixon clashed with the Democrat controlled congress.

Nixon first invoked executive privilege in March 1973.

To reject lawmakers' demands for testimony by then White House counsel John Dean a key figure in the Watergate cover up.

Democrat Sam -- of North Carolina chairman of the senate Watergate Committee threatened to send the sergeant at arms to arrest dean.

Jeff Shepard was a young lawyer on Nixon's legal team.

There is the same bitter divisive partisan atmosphere in Washington that existed in Watergate.

I can't put myself on the president's mind.

Before long dean turned State's evidence and became the hearing star witness leaving Nixon in congress to clash again over access to the president's secret tapes.

The White House tapes were conversations of the president in the Oval Office they had a far higher level of confidentiality.

That was assumed then the attorney general's -- internal documents today.

In July 1974 the Supreme Court ruled executive privilege did exist.

But that investigators need to hear the tapes outweighed Nixon's need for confidentiality.

Nixon turned over the tapes and resigned days later.

Some analysts see president Obama's assertion of executive privilege as part of a pattern in his presidency.

-- the peace with his reported maintenance of a kill list for overseas assassinations.

Neither bush nor even Nixon himself.

Achieved it this is -- name of an imperial presidency to the degree that Barack Obama -- The current congress and president share an interest in compromising on the fast and furious documents.

So as to avoid a binding ruling like USB Nixon tapes case which could conceivably limit the power to one of the branches for generations -- James that.

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