Turley and Klarman to Debate the “Constitutional Crisis” at Colgate

Jonathan Turley headshotMichael Klarman headshotThis afternoon, I will travel to Colgate University to participate in its annual Constitution Day Debate with Michael Klarman, the Charles Warren Professor of Legal History at Harvard Law School. The debate, sponsored by the Robert P. Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions with support from the Office of the President, will address the following question: “Is There a Constitutional Crisis? How Would We Know?”

Professor Klarman will take the affirmative position that we are in a constitutional crisis.

Professor Klarman is the Charles Warren Professor of legal history at Harvard Law School, where he joined the faculty in 2008. He received his BA and MA (political theory) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, his JD from Stanford Law School in 1983, and his DPhil in legal history from the University of Oxford in 1988. At Oxford, he was a Marshall Scholar. After law school, Klarman clerked for the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1983–84). He joined the faculty at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987 and served there until 2008 as the James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law and Professor of History.

He has written various well-received and widely read works, including From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality to Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement, Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History, and From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage. In 2016, he wrote The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the US Constitution. 

The moderator for the debate will be Stephen Garvey, A. Robert Noll Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, who writes and teaches in the areas of capital punishment, criminal law, and the philosophy of criminal law. After graduating from Yale Law School, Professor Garvey clerked for the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and then practiced at the Washington, D.C. firm of Covington & Burling. He joined the Cornell Law School Faculty in 1994. Garvey received his MPhil in Politics from Oxford University (University College), Oxford, England, in 1989, and a BA in Political Science from Colgate University in 1987.

It is a great pleasure to return to Colgate University and to join these two esteemed academics for this event.

213 thoughts on “Turley and Klarman to Debate the “Constitutional Crisis” at Colgate”

  1. 107k people have died every day over the last 111 years. And The historically, ignorant, including Dr. T, don’t recognize this period of time that was prophesied in Matthew chapter 24 Daniel2:43 provides A metaphor for the last human kingdom in line stretching back to some Babylon, which has proven 100% accurate. Men plan andGod laughs! The only item left to be fulfilled Matthew 24 before Jesus returns is telling people about the good news of his kingdom, which includes everlasting life in world peace

  2. Were this debate televised or on youtube, I would not waste my time watching it. How many Surrealists does it take to change a light bulb, once again.

    Turley will say something intelligent, and the other side will make word sounds that have nothing to do with what was said. It will be the appearance of a debate, without actually being a debate.

    Fish.

    1. Rabble:
      Just like Cornell West on the Piers show the other day. Spent 5 minutes pontificating about nothing, and the instant the other side’s rep that day wanted to provide an opposing view, he yelled that “I ain’t being given the chance to speak!” and ended the call in shame.
      They don’t want to debate. they want to echo.

  3. Colgate to Celebrate 2025 Constitution Day With a Debate Sept. 18
    “What does or should it mean to say that a ‘constitutional crisis’ exists? Have we ever been in one? Are we in one now? These are the questions on the table,” says Garvey.
    By: Stephanie DeVries ~ September 3, 2025
    [Link] colgate.edu/about/offices-centers-institutes/centers-institutes/kraynak-institute-study-freedom-and-western-1-0

    Constitution Day Debate
    Thursday, September 18, 2025 4:30pm to 6pm
    Register to livestream the debate here:
    https://calendar.colgate.edu/event/2025-constitution-day-debate

    Video Stream:

  4. Good luck JT

    Great indoor facility with lots of security.

    Meanwhile, Rep, Ilhan Omar can’t control her emotions.

    There is an effort to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar, revoke her citizenship & send her back to Somalia where the Islamic War Lords can deal with her.

  5. Good luck professor! I too would be interested if there was a link to the debate.
    IIRC, recently SC Justice Barrett said in a on stage interview with Bari Weiss of The Free Press, at the Lincoln Center there was no Constitutional crisis.

  6. Donald J. Trump got a podiatrist’s note to avoid the Vietnam War, but he’s all in on the War on Laughter.
    In July, he applauded CBS’s cancellation of Stephen Colbert.
    Last night, he crowed about ABC yanking Jimmy Kimmel, and warned Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers that they could be next.
    Soon, the only comedian left on TV will be Karoline Leavitt.

    1. @anny – And J Biden military service was….. “Joe Biden did not serve in the military. During the Vietnam War era, he received five student draft deferments while attending the University of Delaware and later Syracuse University, and in 1968 he was classified 1-Y after a medical exam confirmed a history of asthma, meaning he could only be drafted in a national emergency.”

        1. Clinton enrolled in graduate school at the U. of Arkansas, hoping to defer his draft obligation by joining ROTC. Instead, he went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he basically said, “Oops! Guess I can’t make it to ROTC after all.”
          Similarly, Mitt Romney dodged the draft as a Mormon missionary in France.

          1. While it’s hard to like Romney, it isn’t “draft dodging” to be involved in religious activities that are expected of a young male belonging to that church. He received three deferments for academic studies – just like Biden and Trump. And then one deferment under the category of ‘minister of religion’ while doing his period as a missionary. When that was over, he was still in the draft, but his draft number was well above the succession of numbers being drawn.

            How did you fixate on Romney and forget Bernie The Commie? He dodged the draft by suddenly filing as a ‘conscientious objector” the moment his then wife kicked him out of the house as an unemployed bum.

            By the time he had to appear to defend his status, the draft was ended.

      1. I can’t tell if Biden is a fantasist or out and out liar.
        As President, Joe was commencement speaker for both Annapolis and West Point.
        He told both that Senator Boggs had “shortlisted him for Annapolis.”
        The problem is that a physical exam happens early in the selection process, and a history of asthma is an automatic DQ.
        So, did Joe lie to his draft board, or did he lie to the cadets and midshipmen? Because the two claims are mutually exclusive

        1. To me, lying to Joe’s draft board is more likely, because in high school, Joe not only was a varsity running back but worked as a lifeguard. And I can’t imagine having a lifeguard who might need to find his inhaler before he could save a life. Much less a running back who could run out of breath halfway to the goal

    2. WRONG You lie.
      Only a military Doctor can make that all.
      Nice try loser. You were never in the service, most of all medical

      PS… these were private companies who dumped Jimmy Kimmel & Stephen Colbert. Not Trump….
      Jezzzzzzzzzz

    3. “Donald J. Trump got a podiatrist’s note to avoid the Vietnam War, but he’s all in on the War on Laughter”

      You’re claiming that Trump supported Rosanne Barr losing her show over ONE remark she made? You forget that? Or you claim Kimmel actually is funny other than a Democrat support group therapist whose viewership is so low they’re losing millions providing him as a Safe Space to people like you?

      You’re obsessed with the Vietnam war, but voted EVERY TIME for Biden who got MORE deferments than Trump – including voting for Biden before Trump ran for office.

  7. **off topic**
    Can you imagine this cowardly abomination took the life of a man who was willing to go where he would face opposition, sometimes physical opposition, just to debate. His only weapon, words. This disgusting individual “was fearful of being shot”, he had to feel “comfortable” to give himself up, what a pansy. This is the hero of the left. Why didn’t his parents realize the problem’s this guy was to normal people?

    “He didn’t want a big SWAT team hitting his parents’ house or his apartment. He was truly fearful of being shot by law enforcement,” Brooksby said. “So the conditions were as relaxed and comfortable and almost to the point of inviting.”

  8. Jonathan: For years you have complained about “censorship”. In columns and books you have alleged, without any evidence, that conservatives have been “purged” from universities and other institutions. Since Jan 20th DJT has said he has “restored free speech” by eliminating all government regulations. The facts contradict DJT’s claim. Here are just some of the things DJT has done to impose censorship and violate free speech protections not only on government agencies but on private institutions:

    1. DJT has fired DOJ, FBI and other agency personnel, not because they did anything wrong. DOJ and FBI personnel now are subjected to lie detector tests and they must pledge to be “loyal” to DJT, not the Constitution.
    2. DJT has cancelled federal funding for NPR/PBS because he doesn’t like their the POVs expressed. Isn’t that viewpoint discrimination and censorship?
    3. DJT has taken over the Kennedy Center and made himself chair. The Center is no longer independent and DJT now decides what performances are acceptable. Isn’t that censorship as well?
    4. DJT has taken retaliatory actions against law firms because he doesn’t like the clients they represent. Isn’t that censorship and a violation of the lawyer’s First Amendment rights?
    5. DJT has taken away the independence of the Smithsonian. He has ordered the removal of exhibits about slavery and the civil rights movement. Isn’t that also censorship?
    6. DJT has ordered the DOJ to delete an agency study from its website that found that “since 1990 far-right extremists have committed far more ideological motivated homicides than far-left or radical extremists…”. Isn’t that also censorship?
    7. DJT forced the cancellation of the Stephen Colbert show. Yesterday DJT had the Jimmy Kimmel show also cancelled. Why? Because the two hosts have been critical of actions taken by DJT’s regime. Isn’t that censorship?
    8. DJT ordered the national park service to remove photos related to slavery. DJT has ordered the removal of an iconic 1863 photo titled “The Scourged Back”. It depicts the severely scarred back of escaped slave “Gordon” who was whipped by his slave master. The photo is “perhaps the most famous of all known Civil War-era portraits of slaves”. Now visitors to our national parks will be deprived of learning some of the history of slavery. But it’s not only slavery. All depictions of racism, sexism, gay rights and persecution of indigenous peoples are also being removed on orders from DJT. Isn’t that also censorship because DJT wants to erase history?
    9. In his latest attempt at censorship DJT, after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, is designating Antifa a “sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and “terrorist organization” and he is ordering the DOJ to investigate anyone who is “funding” Antifa. FACT CHECK: Antifa is not an “organization”. It is a loosely knit grouping who supports Antifa’s anti-fascist philosophy. And there is no evidence Tyler Robinson was influenced by the Antifa philosophy.

    Now I suppose you are pleased DJT has designated Antifa a “terrorist organization”. You have been calling for that for years. But only one question. Isn’t the targeting of individuals for their political views without evidence they have committed any crimes another case of censorship, persecution and a violation of core First Amendment rights? When you start to address all censorship DJT has imposed since Jan. 20th I will take seriously your so-called commitment to free speech!

    1. Trump this , Trump that … and so he did in fact, so what’s the problem? You’re just repeating the MSM. But keep in mind, that’s what we voted for. We are the majority, that’s what American politics is about.
      If you are George, gotta ask, what is your point? Day in, day out you post the same comments. What is your point?

      1. T. Moore: Your comment, “You’re just repeating the MSM,” rings so true.
        One of the key markers of MSM’s presentation of stories dealing with Trump (or stories lifted from MSM) is to always include in its prologue-like introduction, a statement of warning to the public that what follows from Trump or his administration is “without evidence.”

        Notice that the two bookends of the comment you are addressing ^^^ begin with (first paragraph criticizing Turley: “In columns and books you have alleged, without any evidence,… “)–and end with (last paragraph criticizing Trump: “Isn’t {DJT’s] targeting of individuals for their political views without evidence…”

        In between those two bookends is a self-serving list of 9 perceived wrongs by “DJT” presented as facts– “without evidence.”

        1. Lin,
          As I generally just scroll past useless comments, T. Moore and your comments I actually read the annony moron’s comment for context. Both T. Moore and your comments are good observations.
          One of the flaws with our leftist friends is they continue to deny reality and parrot MSM lies over and over again. Take annony moron’s #7. CBS said Colbert’s show was canceled as a financial decision as the show was losing CBS $40M a year: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-late-show-stephen-colbert-end-may-2026/

          As for Jimmy Kimmel, Nexstar Broadcasting Division President Andrew Alford said,
          “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Alford said.

          “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue,” Alford added.
          https://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-abc-affiliates-to-preempt-jimmy-kimmel-live-indefinitely-beginning-tonight/

          There is absolutely no evidence Trump was involved in either but our leftist friends continue to push those conspiracy theories.

          1. Upstate Farmer: Yes. Thank you for presenting some FACTS left out. (see my addendum below, which I am sorry I did not explain in my original comment.)

          2. *. Media is waking up to the eventual RICO charges. Finally…

            Academia will face the same. Finally…

            Congress also, judiciary will face the same with additional audits. Omar at 30 million? Clinton Foundation? So much more.

          3. HPD histrionic personality disorder is created and media and academia are it’s tools. Don’t leave out some on the right. Turn on Glenn Beck radio and listen to the hysteria. Breathless , anxiety ridden screeches…

            Remove the emotion, at least most of the time. If vile or repellant are addressed state the reasons it’s vile and repellant.

            Hate is a toxic emotion. Don’t engage it. Would you drink poison?

            The debate can be viewed at Colgate today. Put it on speaker and have a cup of tea.

            1. “Hate is a toxic emotion. Don’t engage it. Would you drink poison?”

              Wesley would. 🙃

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMz7JBRbmNo

              What a shame though. It’s one of my favorite movies growing up and yet, all of its cast (with the clear exception of Andre the Giant since he passed away) and its director, Rob Reiner, being unabashedly liberal. With Wesley himself, Cary Elwes, and Reiner being the worse offenders, IMO. Of course, they all have every right to be unabashedly liberal. But Elwes and Reiner, they both take things to the extreme, IMO. Perhaps even help contribute to the political discord that led up to the shocking event we witnessed on September 10 with the unnatural and untimely death of Charlie Kirk. That’s not to say those on the right being innocent as they have stoked the flames as well. But compare to most on the left, most on the right are rather the lambs and the left the wolves.

        2. (I should clarify that what I am referring to is not the events stated in the comment, –but rather, the assignment and attribution of a MOTIVE to Trump, e.g., “…not because they did anything wrong: “…because he doesn’t like their the POVs expressed;” “…because he doesn’t like the clients they represent;” “….Because the two hosts have been critical of actions taken by DJT’s regime:” “…because DJT wants to erase history”….)

        3. “One of the key markers of MSM’s presentation of stories . . .”

          And on the flip side, when they want to endorse something (e.g., “global warming,” “gender-affirming care”), there’s this prologue: “Experts say . . .”

          Then when you check, guess what. There is no evidence.

    2. Black Fatigue. Nobody cares that some goobers were slaves 160 years ago. What exactly was the Great Psychic Trauma inflicted on the colored folks, sold to the White Folks, by other colored folks? The Horrendous Horror That Ate The Souls Of Black Folks??? That they had to work six days a week? OMG, not that! How could any racial group ever get over that, even after 160 years??? Oh, the Legacy that still endures, to this very day! Didja know that Slavery had epigenetic impacts on the Colored Folks??? Don’t take my word for it! Here, listen for yourself as a Black Queen explains how the whole Why-Black-People-Can’t-Laugh thingy is because of Slavery! How that just “lives in them”, and can’t be shucked, even after 160 years!

      https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3X7hML0Yadc

    3. Bug, let’s consider your list:
      #1 is control of personnel DJT thinks disloyal to his administration. They can say whatever they want in their private lives.
      #2. NPR/PBS should not have ever been funded by the government. Trump did what Republican Presidents should have done long before.
      #3. If the Center is funded by the government it is not independent. In any event, Trump is not trying to control the speech of the people working there.
      #4. What “retaliatory” actions have been taken against law firms because he doesn’t like their clients? Even if he has done so, let’s remember his attorneys who have been subject to prosecution during the challenge to the 2020 election and the lawfare campaign against him. Some payback# is called for.
      #5. Once again, he is President. An entity funded by the federal government is not independent.
      #6 No, it is not censorship. It is removal of a falsehood.
      #7. Trump did not fire Colbert and Kimmel. The industry is sick of their hack work for the Democratic Party.
      #8. Trump should be applauded for removing anti-American displays from the National Park Service facilities. He has the right of supervision over federal facilities. He is not attempting to control the right of employees to communicate their propaganda in their private lives.
      #9. Whether Antifa is an “organization” or merely an idea, it deserves to be investigated. It apparently encourages mentally-ill people to assassinate people better than themselves.

    4. The narrative pushed by NPR and PBS reflected a bias shared by only 24% of the electorate, yet 100% of the electorate was required to fund it.
      Trump’s joking claim that Russia had hacked into Hillary’s private server was spun as a call to hack her emails. They also claimed Trump called neo-Nazis “good people” and advised Americans to inject bleach. All easily refutable lies.

    5. Dennis McInliar, close personal friend of “Jonathan” posted: “Jonathan: For years you have complained about “censorship”.”

      Dennis, for years you have started every day of your miserable, meaningful life by coming here to cosplay as being friends on a first name basis with your host – and then attack your host while using his blog as though it were yours.

      Why do you do that? As a communist, you believe whatever belongs to your dear friend Jonathan also belongs to you, so it’s your blog as well?

      Or is it because you know that if you posted your BullSchiff on your own personal blog, nothing you posted would ever be read?

  9. (OT)

    Two more Leftist propagandists bite the dust — one disguised as a comedian, the other as a prosecutor.

    Kimmel’s show is cancelled. Fani Willis is permanently removed from the Trump persecution (by the GA Sup. Ct.)

  10. “Constitutional Crisis”, “Threat to Democracy”, “Democracy is at stake”, in the past eight years this has been the battle cry of those who are in fact creating the crisis and risks. Good luck with that debate hope you identify those creating the risk and threats to democracy?

  11. If there were a way this debate could be made available to those who are interested in it, that would be a good thing.

  12. The Constitutional crisis is Congressional paralysis/dysfunction. The place where the great legal controversies of our time are supposed to be debated and decided has been ducking responsibility for 2 decades, leaving it to the other 2 branches — who lack Constitutional authority to making the law.

    Congressional failure to govern is a direct result of the 2 political parties arrogating to themselves extra-Constitutional powers never dreamt of by the Founders. I’ll be specific. The top leadership Offices (Speaker of the House, V.P. and Presiding Officer of the Senate) were never meant to be captured by political factions and turned to the benefit thereof.

    The leaders of these bodies were envisioned to straddle above the factions, and force constructive compromise.
    These leadership Offices were supposed to be accountable for the overall productivity and cohesion of their respective bodies. Where are political parties ever mentioned as authorized to capture and hold these Offices?

    It’s just common sense — when one faction captures the leadership Office, how can that Leader force his own party into compromise? S/he can’t. So, the powerful manager/referee role necessary to make the body produce is chucked aside. The partisan Leader refuses accountability for that lack of institutional productivity, while only being accountable for advancing party interests. It’s such an obvious defect.

    The same criticism can be leveled at the Office of the President. It CAN’T be a partisan leadership position, because someone who stands atop the partisan factions with authority to force constructive compromise is what keeps the government solving big problems in realtime. A party chief in that Office lacks the neutrality to act against the interests of his own party when needed to move the country forward.

    In short, the 2 major political parties long ago mangled Constitutional structure. The redefinition of the “big 3” federal leadership offices as partisan power centers is extra-Constitutional. Things are at an unproductive stalemate until we begin to face up to this — the cause of so much wasted time, money and effort.

      1. You can’t tell the difference between AI and human written paragraphs? That’s something for you to work on.

        1. If that’s what you call “human written paragraphs”, then I would say you are sorely lacking intelligence and diction.

    1. pbinca is correct. Those embracing originalism fall into contradiction unless they recognize the developments identified by pbinca. Also not just the deviation from the original intent of the offices, but the way that intent is avoided by current occupants. Good observation pbinca.

      1. @wiserme

        You guys literally just did what I elucidated below. You can’t make this stuff up, folks. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Not getting your way may stink, but it isn’t a ‘crisis’, and as a citizen of this country you are free to try again anytime you’d like.

  13. Maybe these debates should be on a YouTube channel. Virtually everything else is. Unfortunate that these debates are scheduled and announced with too short a time to get there. I would think debates such as this should be broadcast in a fashion so that all who want to can view them.
    I also note that neither your opponent or the moderator have any apparent roots in the midwest of south other than Virginia for their education of even origin
    I think the professor may be facing a stacked deck but I certainly wish him well.

    1. The point of this useless. Its just a podium for Turley to garner attention and raise his speaking fees.
      And, what exactly is there to debate that hasn’t already been argued?

    2. It would seems this would be perfect for a television or broadcast network that was set up to be in the public interest and supported by public funds. It is a shame that the network that could or should do this was overtaken by some ideological group. Perhaps with what remains of PBS they could start to rite the ship and present debates like this one.

  14. Good luck, Professor Turley. An unintended result of Kirk’s killing is that it is bringing the concept of debate back into consciousness. It is telling that so many on the left consider actually following the Constitution a ‘crisis’, and that when this pointed out to them they essentially say that we need to change it to better enable them. That is going to be a heck of a debate.

  15. We’ve been in constitutional crisis since it was written and didn’t enshrine voting rights for anyone but white male property owners who’d stolen their property from the indigenous population, built their wealth on the back of slavery and raped their slaves when they wanted to take their dirty goat impulses out for a spin.

      1. As to the speculation on why my Irish descended ancestors decided to stay after working off their indentured servitude, enabling them to become some of the best prostitutes, thieves, gangsters and drunks from Providence, Rhode Island…,my guess is at the time they didn’t have enough money to go back. And once they did have enough money they had too much skin in the game and they dedicated themselves to taking what was stolen from those who stole it. They were a crusty lot, that bunch. Pretty much had to be able to fight your way away from the dinner table when they partied.

    1. Those “dirty goat impulses” seem to have created the most free and richest nation in history!! Of course if that land wasn’t “stolen” I am sure we would have a thriving society as is evidenced from all the non “goat impulsed” populations around the globe. If only white westerners didn’t exist the world would be such a great place (sarc).

    2. It took some time, but Native Americans came to recognize the system of private property (land) ownership was superior to the vague and conflict-inviting concept of tribal/communal land ownership. Those NAs who own land, a house, and a pickup truck wouldn’t ever go back to traditional ways of viewing property.

      One aspect of slavery is easy to understand — it was West Africans, and only West Africans that had natural immunity to mosquito-transmitted malaria. Indentured European servants had been tried as field hands and FAILED in the Caribbean and southern American colonies — 90% died of malaria by 3 years. What is much harder to explain is why capitalist land owners never thought to pay these African workers as full economic actors? Why wouldn’t Africans who were mere chattal under the African kings and warlords opt for freedom and earning power by voluntarily moving to the New World to work? If free agency to contract was good for the white landowner, why wasn’t it good for field labor? The best guess is pure greed, racism, and aristocratic thought.

      What matters most is that we the currently living have zero responsibility for what our ancestors chose to do.
      Our responsibility is to each other and posterity — we’ll be judged on how we faced the challenges of our time.

      1. So what, its history. Read and learn from it. You keep commenting about something no one has control of because it happened 250 years ago.
        Are you scouring wikipedia for arguments? Or AI?

  16. Klarman clerked for the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
    ___________________________
    Well, that tells me all I need to know.

    1. what in He received his BA and MA (political theory) from the University of Pennsylvania

      What in the heck…(political theory) So he’s guessing?

    2. The moderator worked for Covington in Washington, a democrat firm. But I suspect the debate will be even handed.

    3. A real debate to present to those who have aspired to retain the ability to discern without an attachment to a bias is much appreciated.

    4. @Dustoff, historically, many are unaware of the relationship between Ginsburg and Scalia – even though they had MANY differences of opinion, they maintained not only a respectful relationship, but a friendship. There was one thing they did agree upon which many have chosen to forget. Judges, Court Officials, and ANY department in the US Government does not make laws. Neither the Executive Branch nor the Judicial Branch. Law is made by the Legislative Branches. It is enforced through the executive branch and compliance and judgment of operative actions thereof is juridic of the Judicial Branch. In other words, US Constitutional Balance of power.

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