A federal judge on Tuesday ruled President Obama cannot use executive privilege to keep records on the “Fast and Furious” gun-tracking program from Congress.
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U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered the administration to release documents that it has been attempting to withhold by asserting executive privilege.
The ruling also requires the administration to release to Congress all "segregable portions" of records they are withholding that are considered “attorney-client privileged material, attorney work product, private information, law enforcement sensitive material, or foreign policy sensitive material.”
House Republicans launched the suit after voting to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to turn over the records.
Operation Fast and Furious was launched by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The gun-running operation, which lasted from 2009 to 2011, resulted in the ATF losing over a thousand firearms. Two of those weapons were linked to the 2010 murder of a Border Patrol agent in Arizona.
Many of the weapons are suspected to have landed in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that brought the lawsuit, lauded the ruling on Tuesday.
"Today's decision will help us advance the Fast & Furious investigation into this administration's gun running operation," he said in a statement.
"After allowing guns to walk, the administration's attempt to hide behind executive privilege only adds insult to injury. While the decision doesn't give us access to all the documents, it is an important step forward. We will continue investigating until we get to the truth."
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