By Joe Sims
By YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
The fascist danger continues to escalate with Trump’s seeming defiance of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s order to delay the deportation of Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members.
The administration denies ignoring the court order, but its lawyers’ evasiveness in responding to the judge’s repeated requests for details surrounding the flights tells another story. Meanwhile, behind the controversy looms the threat of a constitutional crisis.
With some claiming that the threshold of such a crisis has already been reached and others demurring, it’s clear that forethought and planning went into the administration’s actions. Not only did they consult with their attorneys and the State Department beforehand, but when the prisoners arrived in El Salvador, a film crew was on hand to shoot it live and in color. A PR offensive was then set in motion enlisting right-wing talking heads and social media influencers to promote and defend the action.
In response to Trump and others’ calls for the judge’s impeachment, Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back, arguing that the appellate process provides a remedy – not that Trump will listen to him or anyone else.
The Venezuelan deportations are part of a growing pattern of the administration pushing its agenda beyond legal borders. A few days before the planes took off for El Salvador, Trump ignored another court order and deported a Lebanese doctor, Rasha Alawei. Dr. Alawei is a kidney specialist teaching at Brown University with a valid U.S. visa. Apparently she was refused entry for attending the funeral of a Hezbollah leader while on a visit to her country.
