An unlikely furore is emerging as a right-wing think-tank is accusing President Biden’s administration of a legal “stonewalling” following a failed bid to make Prince Harry’s visa application public.
Under the Freedom of Information laws, think-tank The Heritage Group, had previously requested a fast-tracked application to uncover the details of Harry’s visa application.
Under Freedom of Information laws, applications can be fast-tracked if there is “widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence”.
While many could reasonably argue that Prince Harry’s 2020 move to California matches these conditions, a court has denied the application, citing that the interest around Harry’s move was not significant enough to the United States to warrant it.
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, has said in a statement, “The Biden administration is clearly stonewalling here and they are trying to avoid releasing any documents.”
“They are trying to do so by undermining the credibility of the British Press, which is outrageous, and by concentrating their fire on the British Press even though we have submitted articles in the US press about the same subject.”
The reason the British Press has been roped in is because in its written opposition to the fast-track request, the Department of Homeland Security described freedom of information requests from British publications as “niche” and also said it was not persuaded that there were exceptional circumstances that made an urgent response necessary.
The think-tank will now apply for a hearing in front of a judge at the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
The Heritage Foundation is insistent on the the immediate release of the Duke of Sussex’s visa records after he admitted to drug-taking in his memoir, Spare.
It argued that the Duke of Sussex’s records should be made public because admissions of drug use are grounds for inadmissibility in visa applications. As part of his bombshell memoir, he confessed to taking cocaine and mushrooms, saying drugs let him see “the truth.”
Harry will likely be under further scrutiny at some point this year as he’ll probably be refiling for a new visa application.
When people move to the United States, they are typically given three-year visas. Since Harry moved to California with Meghan Markle in 2020, he’ll likely need to renew soon.
Why Prince Harry’s visa application is causing tension. Why Prince Harry’s visa application is causing tension