The Biden administration has pleaded with a court to keep a law enforcement document relating to Prince Harry’s visa application under wraps. Lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security claimed there would be a “stigma attached” if the documents were released. Its appeal was contained in a 53-page transcript of a court hearing in February, over a demand from the conservative Heritage Foundation for the details of the Prince’s application to be made public.
At the heart of the dispute is what he told the American authorities about his prior drug use . In his memoir, Spare , the Duke of Sussex admitted to taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms. Although having taken drugs in the past is not necessarily grounds for automatic exclusion from the US, lying about doing so in a visa application would normally lead to somebody being barred from the country.
The Heritage Foundation has filed a freedom of information application demanding to see the records related to the Prince’s visa application in March 2020. However, the foundation’s application has been repeatedly blocked by the department on the grounds of the Prince’s entitlement to privacy. ‘Stigma’ During February’s hearing, the court challenged John Bardo, the department’s lawyer, on the justification for not publishing its records.
“Many of these records, your honour, are law enforcement records,” Bardo replied. “So there is a stigma associated with being mentioned in a law enforce.
