Biden administration rejects latest bid to release Prince Harry’s visa records due to ambassador’s ‘extraordinary’ comment that Joe will never deport the royal

Joe Biden’s government has rejected a claim that Prince Harry’s US visa details should be released due to ‘extraordinary’ comments made by the president’s ambassador to Britain

It came after Ambassador Jane Hartley recently said Harry would not be deported from the US while Biden is president.

The Heritage Foundation, a Washington DC-based think tank, is currently suing Biden’s Department of Homeland Security under the Freedom of Information Act for access to the royal family’s immigration papers.

A legal salvo earlier this month said Hartley’s comments undermined the Biden administration’s position that the documents should be kept secret and supported their disclosure.

The more than 100-page archive in Washington DC contained a full transcript of what the think tank called Hartley’s “extraordinary” comments in an interview with Sky News on March 25.

However, in a new response to Judge Carl Nichols in Washington DC, attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security declined to accept the argument.

They said Hartley had simply given her response to Donald Trump’s earlier comments that he could deport Harry if he becomes president again.

And they said that in doing so, the ambassador had not revealed any private information about the royal family’s immigration status.

In the filing, U.S. government lawyers also rejected the idea that Hartley had ruled out Harry’s deportation regardless of what happens in the future.

Lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security wrote: ‘Plaintiffs allege that Jane Hartley, the US Ambassador to the Court of Saint James, revealed information about the Duke’s immigration status during an interview with Sky News.

“But Hartley’s comment was simply a response to former President Donald Trump, who suggested that if re-elected president, he would consider deporting the Duke.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex kiss as she presents his polo team with the trophy for winning the 2024 Royal Salute Polo Challenge in aid of Sentebale, Friday, April 12, 2024

US Ambassador Jane Hartley laughed off suggestions that Harry could be deported, telling Sky News: ‘This is not going to happen in the Biden administration’

They continued: ‘Contrary to plaintiffs’ claims, Hartley’s comments did not reveal non-public information about the Duke’s status, and Hartley did not state that the Duke would not be deported “regardless of future circumstances.”

“Hartley’s comment that the Duke would not be deported under the Biden administration is at least consistent with the position taken by the defendant in this lawsuit, namely that the Duke’s admission and residence in the United States does not constitute an impropriety of the government suggests.’

The Heritage Foundation wants Harry’s visa details released to see if he confirmed on his application that he used drugs and whether he received special treatment from immigration authorities.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, in aid of Sentebale, at the USPA National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida on April 12, 2024

In a recent interview for GB News with Nigel Farage, Donald Trump said Harry should not be given ‘special privileges’

In his memoir Spare, which was published after he moved to America in 2020, he admitted to previous drug use, including marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms.

US visa applicants are required to provide information about their history of drug use, which may affect their application.

In its filing, the Heritage Foundation said the Biden administration had always maintained that “none of the information we have can be released without acknowledging what Prince Harry’s immigration status is or without handing over what it is.”

“But on March 25, 2024, the Hon. Jane Hartley, the United States Ambassador to the Court of Saint James’s, did just that.

“Hartley spoke directly not only about the Duke of Sussex’s current immigration status, but also about HRH’s future immigration status.”

District Judge Carl Nichols, who is presiding over the case in Washington DC

SPARE, the memoir of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was published worldwide on January 10, 2023

The think tank argued that this undermined the Biden administration’s argument that the information should be kept secret.

Last month, Donald Trump said that if Harry had lied on his visa application about drug use, he would take “appropriate action” if he became president again.

Trump refused to rule out that Harry would be deported from the United States.

When asked about Trump’s comments, Ambassador Hartley said, “Well, that’s not going to happen in the Biden administration.”