from washington. >> reporter: the showdown between the justice department and the house oversight committee has been building for months and yesterday, it finally came to a head. it's a capitol hill standoff. the white house versus house republicans. >> the president has asserted executive privilege. >> reporter: for the first time, president obama invoked executive privilege to withhold hundreds of documents related to the fast and furious gun running program. the house oversight committee led by republican darrell issa voted to find attorney general eric holder in contempt of congress for not turning over the documents it requested. >> our purpose has always been to get the information the committee needs to complete its work. >> reporter: but the white house threw the executive privilege curveball. a major move on a politically charged issue with election day looming. republicans say the white house seems to be covering something up. >> that brings into question whether or not eric holder knew about it, and how much did the