Library of Congress blames coding error after public spots deletions in Article 1.
Missing constitutional text sparks online alarm
Several portions of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution briefly disappeared from the official Congress.gov website in recent weeks, as first flagged by internet users and confirmed by TechCrunch.
Archived snapshots from the Wayback Machine show that as of July 17, the full text was intact. More recent versions revealed that:
- Large parts of Section 8 were removed.
- Sections 9 and 10 — outlining key limits on congressional and state powers — were deleted in full.
Among the missing text were provisions relating to habeas corpus, the constitutional protection against unlawful detention. Some surviving sections ended abruptly, such as Section 8, which displayed a trailing semicolon where text had previously followed.
Library of Congress cites coding error
In a public statement, the Library of Congress attributed the issue to “a coding error” and assured that it would be “resolved soon.”
Speaking to TechCrunch, a spokesperson explained that the error stemmed from a missing XML tag in the webpage’s code. The issue has since been corrected.
Legal impact minimal, but timing raises eyebrows
The temporary website changes have no effect on U.S. law or the actual text of the Constitution. However, the incident drew heightened scrutiny given political tensions around constitutional rights — particularly after senior Trump administration official Stephen Miller earlier this year floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus.
When contacted, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle declined further comment beyond the Library of Congress’ public statement.
The takeaway
While the episode appears to have been a technical mishap, it highlights the public sensitivity around perceived alterations to foundational legal documents — and the speed with which online communities track and surface such changes.
