Habeas Corpus and Nobility Sections Temporarily Removed from Constitution Site

Unusual Disappearance of Key Constitutional Provisions

Several critical sections of the United States Constitution were briefly removed from the official website of the U.S. Congress. These sections included important provisions such as habeas corpus, which guarantees due process, and the prohibition on granting noble titles. Additionally, a clause that prevents foreign officials from bestowing emoluments on U.S. government employees was also missing. Fortunately, these parts were later restored to the website.

The initial discovery of this issue came from users on the Lemmy forums, who noticed the missing content. The Library of Congress’ online version of the Constitution is one of the most accessible and widely used digital sources for the document. Alongside the National Archives' version, it serves as an official digital resource for the public. These sites are also among the top results when searching for "US Constitution" on Google.

When key parts of the Constitution disappeared from the site, it raised questions about the integrity of the information being presented. This incident became even more intriguing when it coincided with statements from the Trump administration regarding its desire to alter or remove certain constitutional provisions.

Sections 8, 9, and 10 of Article I were affected. Specifically, the clause stating, “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,” was missing. So was the provision that says, “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States.” Another notable omission was the ban on foreign emoluments for U.S. officials.

A detailed list of the changes was shared in a Lemmy thread, though the National Archives version of the document remained unaffected. According to 404 Media, the Library of Congress website had not undergone significant changes since being archived by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which dates back to 2019. Furthermore, the Constitution itself has not been amended since 1992.

The Library of Congress attributed the error to a coding issue. An official post on Bluesky stated, “We've learned that this is due to a coding error. We have been working to correct this and expect it to be resolved soon.” The missing content was restored sometime around 2:00 PM ET on Wednesday.

While the Trump administration does not have direct control over the Library of Congress, it did take steps that could influence the institution. In May, President Trump fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, citing that she “did not fit the needs of the American people.” He then appointed Todd Blanche, a former defense lawyer, as acting Librarian of Congress. A permanent replacement will require Senate confirmation.

This incident is not the first time that official government websites have removed content that the Trump administration found inconvenient. In March, The New York Times reported that hundreds of words were removed from public-facing websites and materials. These included terms such as “activism,” “disability,” “equality,” “female,” “prejudice,” “pollution,” “racism,” “sex,” “transgender,” and “women.” Notably, “men” was not on the list of banned words.

Although removing text from a government website does not alter the legal status of the Constitution, it raises concerns about transparency and access to information. As one user noted on Bluesky, “You realize that they still exist even if you don't post them, right?” Given the current climate, individuals may want to seek out alternative sources to ensure they fully understand their rights.