A Constitutional Crisis In Real Time

The Week In Review (4/10–4/16), BTH–Vol. 4.3

This week, we confront a chilling question: What happens when the government ignores court orders—and no one stops them?

The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia continues to unfold. Despite a Supreme Court ruling and a clear district court order, the administration has refused to confirm whether it even asked El Salvador to release him. Mr. Garcia remains in a foreign prison because of a government mistake—and now, the same government claims it’s powerless to fix it.

On Main Justice, we examined the legal stakes of the Garcia case, along with two new habeas petitions and ongoing retaliation campaigns from Donald Trump—this time targeting the Associated Press, Harvard, and individual critics.

I also joined Jen Rubin on The Contrarian and Tim Miller on The Bulwark to dig deeper into the constitutional implications of the administration’s actions. We discussed how Trump’s Oval Office meeting with the Salvadoran president—where no one even asked for Garcia’s return—illustrates a disregard not just for the rule of law, but for fundamental decency. But the courts still have tools: contempt rulings, fines, even jail. The question is whether they’ll be used—and whether they’ll be enough.

And on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell and Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace, we unpacked two apparently unanimous Supreme Court rulings on due process and the Garcia case. If you missed it, the segment laid bare the real danger: a president who believes he can remove anyone—even mistakenly—and do nothing to correct it.

Stay informed. Stay engaged.

—Andrew

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Here’s what we’ve covered on Substack this past week (4/10-4/16), including both public and paid (🔒) subscriber posts. If you missed anything, the links are below.

Vol 4.2.a

Weaponizing The Justice System—Again

Vol 4.2.b

The Supreme Court Says No To Lawlessness

Vol 4.2.c:

SCOTUS Ruling Affirms Immigrant Due Process Rights

Vol 4.2.d:

When The Government Ignores The Courts

Vol 4.2.e:

Mr. Abrego Garcia

Vol 4.2.f:

BREAKING: Understanding Judge Boasberg's Contempt Ruling Today

This Week’s Appearances:

MSNBC, Deadline Whitehouse With Nicolle Wallace 4/14/2025

MSNBC, Deadline Whitehouse With Nicolle Wallace 4/15/2025

The Bulwark, Tim Miller Discussion 4/11/2025

The Contrarian, Jen Rubin Discussion 4/14/2025

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