(Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Updated 10:43 p.m. ET

(CBS News) The White House granted Attorney General Eric Holder with executive privilege regarding Fast and Furious. Regardless of the action, Rep. Darrell Issa, R.-Cal., head of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee indicated he is moving forward with a contempt vote of the attorney general.
Executive privilege enables the Justice Department to withhold documents from Congress, even if Congress has issued a subpoena, as Rep. Issa has.

In a letter to Rep. Issa, Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote, "Although we are deeply disappointed that the Committee appears intent on proceeding with a contempt vote, the Department remains willing to work with the Committee to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues."
At issue is documents over the Arizona gunwalking program that put guns in the hands of illicit gun purchasers as a way to track Mexican smuggling cartels. As a result of the program, hundreds of guns showed up in Mexico and one was found at where a U.S. border agent was killed. Issa and his counterpart in the Senate, Charles Grassley, R-Iowa., opened an investigation into the case more than a year ago.
In a letter to President Obama asking for executive privilege, the attorney general wrote "that the Committee has not established that privileged documents are demonstrably critical to the responsible fulfillment of the Committee's legitimate legislative functions."

A White House told CBS News that this is the first time President Obama has asserted executive privilege, and noted that President George W. Bush used the privilege 6 times and President Bill Clinton used it 14 times.

A meeting held Tuesday evening between the head of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Holder was an attempt to work out an agreement over handing out documents pertaining to the Fast and Furious case. But it ended without an agreement being reached.

Issa told reporters after the meeting, "If we receive no documents, we'll go forward. If we receive documents we will evaluate them."
In a letter to Issa sent later Tuesday evening, Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote, "We regret that the Committee rejected our proposal. Our offer would have provided the Committee with unprecedented access to these documents, many of which are not covered by the Committee's subpoenas in this matter."
"We're not looking to hold people responsible. We're looking for document production," Issa said.
Issa's committee is looking for documents dating from February to December 2011 on how the Justice Department handled the Fast and Furious case.
Holder says he made Holder an "extraordinary" offer that includes documents, a briefing on those documents and answers to questions Issa and his committee might have.
"The ball is in their court," Holder said. "They rejected what I think is an extraordinary offer."
Sen. Grassley, who attended the meeting, told CBS News that Issa is right to proceed with contempt vote against Holder.