Campaigners trying to force the release of Prince Harry’s US visa records have submitted to a judge what they called “extraordinary” comments from Joe Biden’s ambassador to the UK.
Ambassador Jane Hartley recently said Harry would never be expelled from the United States as long as Biden is president.
The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, is currently suing Biden’s Department of Homeland Security for access to the royal’s immigration papers.
He argued that the ambassador’s remarks undermined the Biden administration’s attempt to keep the documents secret and supported the case for releasing them.
In a more than 100-page legal brief filed in Washington DC, the think tank said Ambassador Hartley’s remarks during a March 25 interview on Sky News were “extraordinary” and provided a transcript to the judge Carl Nichols.
Donald Trump has said “action” could be taken against the Duke of Sussex if he is found to have lied about drug use when applying for a US visa.
This happened as Judge Nichols reviewed records relating to Harry’s immigration status and decided whether they should be made public.
“Ambassador Hartley’s statements significantly enhance the already compelling public interest in disclosure,” the Heritage Foundation said in its filing.
He said the ambassador had “selectively disclosed” details while DHS “simultaneously and vigorously resisted any disclosure in this matter” and that this “should be taken into account” by the judge.
The Heritage Foundation wants Harry’s visa records released to see if he confirmed drug use on his application and whether he received special treatment from authorities. ‘immigration.
In his memoir Spare, published after his move to America in 2020, he admitted to previous drug use, including marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms.
US visa applicants are required to disclose any history of drug use, which may impact their application.
Lying on an application can result in sanctions, including deportation.
US Ambassador Jane Hartley scoffed at the suggestion Harry could be deported, telling Sky News: ‘That’s not going to happen under the Biden administration’
Last month, Donald Trump said that if Harry was found to have lied on his visa application about drug use, he would seek to take “appropriate action” if he became president again.
Trump refused to rule out Harry being deported from the United States.
Asked about Trump’s comments, Ambassador Hartley said that “is not going to happen in the Biden administration.”
In its filing, the Heritage Foundation said DHS has always maintained that “none of the information we have can be released without acknowledging Prince Harry’s immigration status or letting us know what it is.” .
Interviewed for GB News by Nigel Farage last Tuesday, Donald Trump said Harry should not be given ‘special privileges’
He continued: “But on March 25, 2024, the Hon. This is exactly what Jane Hartley, the United States Ambassador to the Court of Saint James’s, did.
“Hartley spoke directly about not only the Duke of Sussex’s current immigration status, but also HRH’s future immigration status.”
The think tank argued that this undermined DHS’s argument that the information should remain secret.
It said: “Ambassador Hartley spoke directly about some of the information regarding the Duke of Sussex’s immigration status sought by the plaintiffs’ FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request – information that DHS has repeated to several occasions in this Court must remain confidential.”
In the filing, Harry was referred to as “HRH Prince Henry Charles Albert David George, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel KCVO (“HRH” or “Duke of Sussex”).
Harry said he was considering becoming a US citizen
Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said: “The US ambassador’s arrogant remarks in London about Prince Harry constitute an extraordinary intervention by a senior US diplomat in a matter pending in federal court.
“The US ambassador’s remarks clearly concerned not only the current immigration status of the Duke of Sussex, but also the future immigration status of Prince Harry.”
He added: “The Biden administration has gone to great lengths to protect Prince Harry and has even ruled out possible deportation of the Duke of Sussex if he had lied on his US immigration application and violated US immigration law. immigration.
“The Biden administration acted without transparency or accountability to the American people regarding the Heritage Foundation’s Freedom of Information request relating to Prince Harry’s U.S. immigration application. They should release Harry’s immigration records to the American people.
District Judge Carl Nichols presiding over the case in Washington, D.C.
SPARE, the memoir of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was released worldwide on January 10, 2023.
Earlier this week, DHS turned over Harry’s visa documents to Judge Nichols.
The judge had ordered DHS to provide more information on why its immigration information should not be released.
DHS said it complied with the order by submitting “statements with attachments for ex parte review in closed session (privately)” via an encrypted link.
U.S. immigration authorities regularly ask questions about drug use on visa applications.
In the past, British celebrities including singer Amy Winehouse and model Kate Moss have faced difficulties.
But acknowledging past drug use does not necessarily result in automatic rejection.
DHS said from the start that it could not release the Duke’s visa application, writing in a court filing: “Courts routinely hold that a person’s visa or immigration status is private information and personal information exempt from disclosure.
“Specifically, the records would reveal the types of documents Prince Harry used to travel to the United States, his admission status, and any immigration or non-immigration benefits he may have requested.”
After a hearing in February, Judge Nichols told DHS that his arguments were “not detailed enough” for him to make a decision.
dailymail us
