Former President Donald Trump accused the Biden administration of protecting Prince Harry’s immigration application, which the Heritage Foundation is fighting to make public due to Harry’s admitted drug use.
Trump expressed no support for Harry, criticizing his actions and the royal family’s response.
“I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed [Queen Elizabeth II]. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me,” Trump said.
The debate revolved around whether Harry’s drug admissions should have affected his entry into the U.S., with the DHS arguing that Harry may have entered on a diplomatic visa.
The Heritage Foundation and DHS clashed in court over the release of Harry’s immigration records, highlighting discrepancies in opinions regarding Harry’s status and eligibility for entry.
“Given Harry’s extensive drug use admissions, normally disqualifying for entry into the United States, Americans deserve to know if Prince Harry lied on his application and DHS looked the other way or gave him otherwise preferential treatment,” Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom director Nile Gardiner wrote.
“Widespread and continuous media coverage has surfaced the question of whether DHS properly admitted the Duke of Sussex in light of the fact that he has publicly admitted to the essential elements of a number of drug offenses,” the foundation stated.
“The book isn’t sworn testimony or proof,” DHS attorney John Bardo said.
“Saying something in a book doesn’t necessarily make it true,” Bardo said.
“This is Prince Harry’s book. He has never denied anything in his own book … including the extensive widespread drug use,” Gardiner said.
“He’s still a member of the British Royal family and has the title Duke of Sussex. … He’s still a government official in the U.K. by his birth and title,” the DHS attorney said.
It would be a “huge red flag” to have admitted him “when the whole world knows he’s not a working royal,” Heritage Foundation lawyer Samuel Dewey said.
