A previous case involving former president Donald Trump was cited as a reason not to release documentation regarding Prince Harry’s US visa by the country’s government
The United States government has cited a Donald Trump case as a reason to not share details of Prince Harry’s immigration status.
The officials argue that a court ruling regarding Trump’s privacy means the Duke of Sussex should be received the same protection.
The announcement comes as Washington DC-based think tank, The Heritage Foundation, has sued Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to release details of what visa Harry used to enter the country. The group is eager to discover if Harry received preferential treatment in his visa application after he admitted in his memoir, Spare, that he previously took drugs.
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Under US law, anyone who has taken drugs, or labelled as a “drug abuser” is in danger of being deemed “inadmissible” to America, and their strict laws have prevented other famous faces, such as Nigella Lawson and Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton, from entering the United States.
The Heritage Foundation took its complaint to court, and is seeking the release of Harry’s visa application in an effort to know if he lied about his previous drug use, or if he had been given special treatment by the Department of Homeland Security.
However, a case involving former President Trump is being cited as a reason to stop making any information public knowledge. The case regarding Trump’s privacy over possible interactions with the FBI was cited as a reason not to divulge details about the royal, according to a court hearing transcript from February.
John Bardo, a lawyer for the department, reportedly said at the time that the Trump case involved possible interactions he may have had with the FBI prior to 2015, when he was a private citizen. This information too was sought under an FOIA request.
Bardo said: “They found that President Trump, from when he was a private citizen, his privacy interests outweighed any public interest that there may be in previous interactions he may have had with the FBI. And I would argue, if President Trump has a privacy interest in that kind of interaction with the government, Prince Harry’s privacy interest is even greater.
“Because he was never a governmental official in this country, has never appeared on a ballot in this country.”
It was claimed earlier this year that a win for President Biden could help Prince Harry’s current visa woes.
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