Trump Presidency
Trump Allies Slam Habeas Corpus, Then That Part of the Constitution Vanishes Online
In a bizarre twist worthy of political satire, the U.S. Constitution briefly lost one of its most fundamental legal protections—on a government-run website—just as Donald Trump and his inner circle continue to challenge that very right. Over the past week, Section 9 of Article I of the U.S. Constitution—the clause guaranteeing habeas corpus—disappeared from the Constitution Annotated page on the Library of Congress website. The clause affirms that “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,” a key safeguard against unlawful imprisonment.
This curious Habeas Corpus disappearance comes as Donald Trump-aligned officials have been openly hostile toward that very clause. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus to expedite mass deportations, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently mischaracterized the provision as something the president can override to remove migrants—essentially the opposite of what it legally means.
Trump himself, when asked about constitutional obligations and due process earlier this year, flippantly replied, “I don’t know.”
The Library of Congress, which maintains the Constitution Annotated resource as a nonpartisan public tool, issued a statement blaming the deletion on a “coding error.” The missing sections were quietly restored after staff scrambled to address the issue. “We’ve learned that this is due to a coding error,” read the official post on X. “We have been working to correct this and expect it to be resolved soon.”
The timing, however, raised red flags. Multiple federal employees expressed skepticism, with one telling Rolling Stone, “Funny coincidence,” in response to the glitch explanation. Critics quickly pointed out that the so-called glitch impacted a clause of Habeas Corpus that the Trump administration is not only uncomfortable with, but actively seeks to suppress.
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While the temporary deletion doesn’t alter the Constitution’s legal force, it adds fuel to the growing concerns around Trump’s authoritarian leanings. His administration has made increasingly aggressive moves to assert control over federal institutions, including a recent attempt to oust Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden before the end of her term. Trump has already announced her replacement: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a longtime Trump ally and former personal attorney.
Carla Hayden is appealing her removal in court, raising broader alarms about the politicization of the Library of Congress, a legislative branch institution meant to serve as a neutral source of historical and legal information.
While the clause in question is now back online, its momentary disappearance—paired with the Trump camp’s disdain for it—has reignited fears about the fragility of constitutional norms under potential second-term ambitions.
In an era where digital footprints are just as important as legal documents, the erasure—however brief—was more than symbolic. It was a reminder that democracy requires not just documents, but vigilance.
