Prince Harry mentioned 'illegal drug use' in memoir 'Spare' as a marketing strategy, claims lawyer
WASHINGTON, DC: A lawyer has reportedly argued in a DC court that Prince Harry's writing about taking drugs in his memoir ‘Spare’ does not confirm that he indeed took them.
The 39-year-old in his book has reportedly claimed that “psychedelics did me some good.”
John Bardo, a lawyer for the DHS, told the E Barrett Prettyman Courthouse, as per The Telegraph that “the book isn’t sworn testimony or proof” that the former senior royal did intake drugs.
He stated, “Saying something in a book doesn’t necessarily make it true.”
Think tank wants public release of Prince Harry’s visa application
Bardo’s statement came after The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, filed a case, demanding the release of Harry’s visa application after he spoke about his drug use in the book.
The organization believes that the Duke of Sussex should not be allowed in the US under federal law if he took illegal drugs. It claimed that Harry’s application details are of “immense public interest.”
In its request, the think tank wrote, “[The case] comes about in the main because HRH [His Royal Highness] voluntarily – and for immense profit – admitted in writing to the elements of any number of controlled substance violations. (Indeed, some say HRH has approached the point of bragging and encouraging illegal drug use).”
“The Duke of Sussex did so despite the fact that it is widely known that such admissions can have adverse immigration consequences for non-citizens and despite employing preeminent legal advisors on both sides of the Atlantic,” the filing added.
View this post on Instagram
Think tank calls lawyer’s statement ‘ridiculous’
After the Friday hearing, February 23, Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, reportedly asserted that the argument stating Harry’s mention of drug intake in his memoir just for marketing was “ridiculous.”
“This is Prince Harry’s book. He has never denied anything in his own book, including the extensive widespread drug use,” Gardiner added.
Prince Harry cannot use 'category A' visa
Meanwhile, in his argument, Bardo also noted that it was “certainly plausible” that the father-of-two came to the US on visa type A, meant for a Diplomat or foreign government official.
The lawyer added, “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 UK by his birth and title.”
However, as per Samuel Dewey, the Heritage Foundation's lawyer, that’s “absurd” and “preposterous” since Harry was not a working member of the UK royal family when he arrived in America.
He reportedly said, “Absent the King himself, you can’t come here and work,” since “the whole world knows he’s not a working royal.”
“I think that would also implicate questions in Parliament to the extent if he had a valid visa and tried to use it, how would the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary have authorised that?” Dewey remarked.
