Several sections of the online annotated US Constitution maintained by the Library of Congress vanished recently due to what the Library maintains was a coding error. However, the content of the now-restored sections has raised suspicions that the move was political.

The internet has been abuzz in recent days over the [1]disappearance of parts of Article 1, [2]Section 8 of the Constitution, as well as the entirety of Article 1, Sections [3]9 and [4]10 , from the Library of Congress website that tracks the history of the United States' charter document and highest set of laws.

Multiple [5]threads on Reddit, and a number of posts on other social media platforms have cropped up discussing the removal of the sections, but the Library of Congress had a simple explanation for the matter: It was just a coding error.

[6]

"It has been brought to our attention that some sections of Article 1 are missing from the Constitution Annotated website. We've learned that this is due to a coding error," the Library [7]said on BlueSky yesterday. "We have been working to correct this and expect it to be resolved soon."

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The Library [10]updated its post several hours later to report the missing sections had been restored.

"Upkeep of Constitution Annotated and other digital resources is a critical part of the Library's mission, and we appreciate the feedback that alerted us to the error and allowed us to fix it," the Library said in its post.

Missing sections politically relevant

It would be a simple matter to take the Library's word when it said a coding error caused the issue, but some internet denizens [11]weren't willing to accept that excuse, as all three missing bits related to one Trump controversy or another.

First there's Section 8, which covers powers granted to the legislative branch. Section 8, as illustrated in the link at the beginning of this story, was missing sections on Congress's authority to legislate rules for Washington, D.C., as well as language giving Congress authority to make regulations for military forces. Trump has recently made [12]comments about placing the nation's capital directly under control of the federal government.

[13]Trump calls for Intel CEO's head over alleged China links

[14]Trump tariffs ruled illegal within minutes of Musk announcing end of government role

[15]Ex-CISA chief slams MAGA 'manufactured outrage' after sudden West Point firing

[16]Trump teases 'approximately' 100 percent tariff for imported semiconductors

Section 9, which defines what Congress can't do, is where the real controversy begins. That's the section of the Constitution that covers the writ of habeas corpus, which requires the government to show cause for detaining someone. Critics have accused the Trump administration of routinely violating that fundamental rule of the US judicial system on multiple occasions related to the President's [17]illegal immigrant deportation spree . The administration has even suggested [18]suspending it to make the deportation process simpler. Section 9 critically notes that the government can't suspend habeas corpus except during rebellion or invasion, the latter of which the Trump administration has tried to use as justification for its suspension.

Section 9 is also where the emoluments clause lives. That's the portion of the Constitution that bans anyone holding office from accepting foreign titles, favors, or expensive gifts - [19]like luxury jets - to prevent a conflict of interest. Emoluments have been a [20]constant contentious issue for Trump.

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Section 10 defines powers denied to states, like making foreign treaties or levying import duties. While Trump hasn't threatened anything to do with this section, he has made several moves (trying to [22]ban state AI regulation and [23]restricting broadband funding for actions Trump doesn't like, for example) that many see as [24]hostile to states' rights - a favorite cause of the American right that supports Trump.

We asked the White House about the political implications of the coding error, but it declined to say anything about the issue. The Library of Congress, on the other hand, gave us more insight into the incident: Someone fat-fingered an XML tag.

"When updating the site to reflect our constitutional scholars’ analysis of the impact of the latest cases on Article I, Sections 8-10, the team inadvertently removed an XML tag," LoC communications director Bill Ryan told us in an email. "This prevented publication of everything in Article I after the middle of Section 8. The problem has been corrected, and our updated constitutional analysis is now available. We are taking steps to prevent a recurrence in the future." ®

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[1] https://web.archive.org/web/diff/20250601021212/20250806023110/https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/

[2] https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-1/section-8/

[3] https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-1/section-9/

[4] https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-1/section-10/

[5] https://www.reddit.com/r/law/comments/1mj3ttx/constitution_of_the_united_states_website_has/

[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJUh9AjFu5hWFzbG10kFyAAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[7] https://bsky.app/profile/librarycongress.bsky.social/post/3lvqilhwb6k2x

[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJUh9AjFu5hWFzbG10kFyAAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJUh9AjFu5hWFzbG10kFyAAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[10] https://bsky.app/profile/librarycongress.bsky.social/post/3lvqwltxvi22m

[11] https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1mjesk9/constitution_website_missing_sections_due_to/

[12] https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/08/06/trump-dc-federalize-edward-coristine/

[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/07/republican_senator_queries_intel_over/

[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/29/trump_tariffs_trumped/

[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/31/jen_easterly_west_point_termination/

[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/07/us_semiconductor_tariffs_100_percent/

[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/21/ice_enlists_palantir_to_develop/

[18] https://www.npr.org/2025/05/23/nx-s1-5406448/can-trump-suspend-habeas-corpus

[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/13/presidents_trump_747_qatar/

[20] https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/the-intensifying-threat-of-donald-trumps-emoluments/

[21] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJUh9AjFu5hWFzbG10kFyAAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[22] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/20/trump_bill_regulation_free_ai/

[23] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/us_states_affordable_broadband/

[24] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-takes-aim-states-rights-132833914.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALA2AuL2Oq3J8LdVMn7v4q946r5gbwoVrSVee0n2gOnuSI87-uT3h-seS1uLrX5Vz45paZ28aYGm9mO6NIipQD_G8Sm1l40KahgTzUA_00mKgn5b1ldOS4ggiOMAgOAkgt0ffDJlmIbn34FNyAAcJGIAty2-ofP2xsUXwYg_x-C4

[25] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/