A political fight caused by a dispute between branches of a government over what exactly their powers are. A constitutional crisis, if it's accompanied by other divisions -- such as ethnic or religious ones -- can degenerate into a civil war very quickly. Responsible officials go to great lengths to avoid causing them.

Constitutional crises are common in newly established (or newly reformed) political systems. In Russia, for example, in October 1993, then-president Boris Yeltsin didn't like what his country's parliament was doing, and issued an order to dissolve the assembly and have new elections. Parliament kept meeting anyway, declaring Yeltsin's dissolution order invalid and unconstitutional.

The situation was resolved by a siege, after Yeltsin ordered the military to surround the parliament building and not leave until the parliamentary leaders were arrested.

More mature governments aren't immune. There was a short-lived constitutional crisis in the United States in 1973, when then-president Richard Nixon temporarily refused to comply with an order from the Supreme Court to hand tapes of Oval Office conversations over to Congress.

Constitutional crises are, by definition, never resolved by formal legal means, because they're based on disagreements over what the law is, not just what it means. Usually, they arise in circumstances a country's constitution simply doesn't cover. The resolution usually comes about by force, as it did in Russia, or by a demonstration of overwhelming public support for one side or the other, as in the Watergate tapes affair.

Welcome to America's Constitutional Crisis. The Trump Administration just said they deported 350 Venezuelan immigrants who were gang members to Venezuela. Only they sent them to El Salvador, where they are to be held for ‘a very good price’. Note that El Salvador is not subject to U.S, Laws and therefore U.S courts. But a judge ordered the Administration to stop the deportations and return them home. None were returned. None of the judge's orders were obeyed and Trump called for the judge's impeachment for the high crime and misdemeanor of telling him no. The Administration simply chose to ignore the courts, as they do other court orders they simply don’t want. They say these immigrants were gang members, but are they? No one in America is to be denied due process of law. Is it no longer possible for a sane person to believe anything at all that comes out of anyone in the Administration. There certainly was no ‘due process of law’ as it is commonly understood.

‘Due process of law’ is what separated America from the banana republics of the world. Most countries have constitutions, and many every bit as liberal and supportive of human rights as the U.S. Constitution. The difference is, until now, American courts tended to follow the law rather than the desires of politicians. Conservatives have often complained, but the truth is when cases are decided, there’s this thing called evidence. Evidence must be presented in court, and is subject to open attack. Assertions are not enough. The lack of evidence, and not the Deep State, is why Hillary Rodham Clinton was never charged with a crime. She has never once pled the Fifth Amendment. Donald Trump recently took the fifth over fifty times, yet was still convicted of 34 felonies with 77 more pending and awaiting trial, assuming it remains possible to charge any Republican with a crime.

If law enforcement investigate people to please the Head of State, then you live in a police state. If the courts decide to ignore evidence and convict because a high public official wants a conviction, that also signals a police state. Why do you think Alexi Navalny died in prison, rather than took a place in Russian government? He died because Vladimir Putin wanted him dead. He died because the leader denied him his civil rights, and the rest of the Russian government went along with Putin. People don’t protest in Russia because if they protest the war, a judge will ignore the Russian constitution and send them to jail. Because a constitution only matters if people think it matters.

Well, the Trump administration is firing people the law says they have no authority to fire. They arrested Khalil Muhammad, a permanent legal resident of the United States with an American wife and not one person in the administration can give an actual reason as to why. They arrested him for protesting what Israel was doing in Gaza. He was arrested for speech, for saying something the Administration didn’t like. When people are arrested for speaking their minds, then it is fair to wonder of the First Amendment even matters any more.

Donald Trump ended the Voice of America because it was committed to actual journalism rather the right-wing jingoism he craves. He kicked the Associated Press out of the White House press room for accurately reporting his actual role in January 6, 2021. In Trump world the free press is an enemy. If Joseph Goebbels were still alive, he’d be working for Trump.

It’s wrong to say we’re in danger of a constitutional crisis. We’re in one right now. People are being pressured at this moment to ignore violations of the Law, Due Process, the Separation of powers. Standing up and being counted right now is the one thing we can do to stiffen the backs of people under pressure. Because of the judges bend, and the military bend, and the police bend then Democracy itself is over. It’s now or never people. Will you stand up and be counted?

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