The Library of Congress acknowledged Wednesday that a “coding error” was to blame for the sudden disappearance of significant portions of the U.S. Constitution from its Constitution Annotated website an online legal resource used by lawmakers, courts, and the public.
The missing text included essential provisions like the right to habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful detention, and the foreign emoluments clause, which restricts federal officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments. These are not obscure footnotes they are central to current legal and political discussions, particularly in light of the president’s aggressive immigration policies and ongoing questions about foreign influence.
By around 2 p.m. Eastern Time, the missing sections had been restored. But earlier, users had noticed the site had removed large chunks of Article I specifically, most of Section 8, and all of Sections 9 and 10 with no immediate explanation.
Tech site TechCrunch first flagged the issue, citing archived pages and screenshots from the Wayback Machine that showed the Constitution was fully intact as recently as mid-July. The now-restored section originally cut off after the clause granting Congress the power “To raise and support Armies,” abruptly ending with a semicolon. It skipped over key follow-up clauses, including the one that gives Congress the authority “To provide and maintain a Navy.”
The Library of Congress responded publicly, confirming that portions of Article I were indeed missing and attributing it to a technical glitch. “It has been brought to our attention that some sections of Article 1 are missing from the Constitution Annotated,” the library posted on social media. “We’ve learned that this is due to a coding error.” A notice was posted on the website itself acknowledging data issues and assuring visitors that the matter was being addressed.
During the outage, links to crucial constitutional provisions such as Section 9’s restriction on ex post facto laws redirected users to a “Page Not Found” error, humorously featuring a portrait of George Washington. Those links have since been corrected.
The timing of the error raised concerns, particularly given the heightened scrutiny of the habeas corpus clause. That clause clearly states: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” The Trump administration had reportedly explored suspending that right amid its legal battles to expand deportations. In May, the president’s top policy adviser Stephen Miller said the White House was reviewing that option. Around the same time, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared confused during a Senate hearing, mistakenly claiming habeas corpus granted the president a “constitutional right” to enforce deportations an assertion legal experts quickly dismissed.
While the sections have now been restored, the brief disappearance of key constitutional protections has sparked a wave of concern about transparency, accountability, and the reliability of official government websites housing America’s most fundamental legal document.