WASHINGTON (June 20, 2012)--President Barack Obama has asserted executive privilege over documents a House committee is seeking in an investigation of a flawed gun-smuggling probe, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.

In a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a Justice Department official said the privilege applies to documents that explain how the department learned that there were problems with the investigation called Operation Fast and Furious.

Members of the House panel are threatening to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt.

House Speaker John Boehner questioned the administration's use of executive privilege to withhold the documents.

A spokesman for Boehner said the administration has always insisted that the White House itself wasn't involved in Operation Fast and Furious or its aftermath, but he says the assertion of executive privilege would suggest otherwise.