Prince Harry visa ruling as judge gives major update on sealed documents

A judge has indicated that Prince Harry’s application for a US visa may be subject to the release of some of the sealed documents.

Although the records are currently sealed, Judge Carl Nichols has seen them. They have revealed details about Harry’s immigration status in the US. The judge stated at a hearing in Washington, DC today that he wanted “maximum disclosure as long as it doesn’t violate privacy” as the most recent development in the two-year legal battle.

Judge Nichols said: “I’m not foreclosing the possibility that there might be some possible relief”, and asked Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide requests for redactions or “continued withholdings”.

He added that he desired “maximum disclosure as long as it doesn’t infringe on privacy.” John Bardo, a lawyer for the department, said the documents would be a “shell” once redacted.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC, questioned Harry’s eligibility for entry into the US in 2020 after he admitted in his book Spare taking cocaine, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms.

The think tank claims that Harry lied on his immigration forms or received special treatment from the Biden administration. The Prince should not have been granted a visa because of his history of drug use, but it was turned down by the DHS, who requested the release of his visa records under the Freedom of Information Act.

Current and past drug use is specifically asked in US visa applications, which can affect the applicant’s ability to progress. Immigration officers exercise their discretion in light of a variety of factors, including the presence of illicit drugs, which can cause applications to be rejected.

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House last month, the case has for the first time been heard in US courts. Harry was previously warned by the US president, who has the authority to intervene and request that the documents be made public.

The Heritage Foundation is requesting a change in the ruling from a judge’s earlier hearing in the case in September, which determined that the public had no compelling interest in the release of the duke’s immigration records. The think tank claimed it was in the “immense public interest” and that the organization had filed the lawsuit against the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) after a Freedom of Information Act request was turned down.

In his controversial memoir, the duke said cocaine “didn’t do anything for me”, adding: “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me”. The Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit argued that US law “generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry” to the country.

The think tank added that disclosures of the duke’s prior drug use in his visa applications would have raised concerns about the integrity of the US government. In the DHS’s response to the legal claim, it said: “Much like health, financial, or employment information, a person’s immigration information is private personal information”.

No “publicly available information” is provided in the submissions made by attorney John Bardo on behalf of DHS, which states that Prince Harry has ever been found guilty of a drug-related offence.

Mr. Bardo remarked that any hints that the Heritage Foundation might have been wronged on behalf of the US government were “purely speculative.” Harry shouldn’t be given preferential treatment, Mr. Trump claimed in a GB News interview with Nigel Farage in March of last year.

Asked if the duke should have “special privileges” if he is found to have lied in his application, Trump said: “No. We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action”.

Trump also outraged the Biden administration over how they handled Harry’s immigration application, which was intended to “protect Harry.” He told the Express US: “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. If it were up to me, he would be alone.

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Source: Mirror