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Presidential Authority to Order the Removal of the Original Engrossed Constitution From the Library of Congress

Date of Issuance:
Headnotes

The custody of the original engrossed Constitution of the United States is now vested by statute in the Library of Congress, and no statute authorizes the President to interfere with that custody or to prescribe rules governing it. Therefore, an executive order authorizing the removal of the Constitution from the Library of Congress could neither compel such removal nor make it legal.

Updated July 9, 2014