Think Tank Accused of 'Sensationalism' in Prince Harry Drugs Lawsuit

Lawyers for the Biden administration have accused a conservative think tank of "sensationalism" in the latest salvo of their war of words about Prince Harry's drug use.

Harry described his use of cannabis, magic mushrooms, cocaine and ayahuasca in his memoir Spare, prompting the Heritage Foundation to ask the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish his U.S. visa application.

The foundation wants to determine whether the Duke of Sussex disclosed his experiences with illegal substances in the paperwork and, if so, whether he was treated with favoritism.

However, the administration has declined its requests, made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a DHS agency, initially refused to confirm or deny whether Harry had entered America at all, pointing to the need to respect his privacy.

This was labeled "frivolous" by the think tank's legal team in a court filing seen by Newsweek.

It added: "Anyone who is not living under a massive boulder knows that the Duke of Sussex has applied for entry to the United States.

"His Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, Episode 6, opens with a selfie video of HRH flying via private jet into the United States to take up extended residence in Los Angeles on March 14, 2020, at around 6:00 a.m."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has since acknowledged that it holds records in relation to times that Harry has entered and exited America.

DHS lawyers said in a new court filing that the agency "acknowledged the existence of some records, which it itemized in the letter, but refused to confirm or deny the existence of others."

They argued that the foundation's swipe was "simply an effort to add sensationalism into a routine FOIA case."

The Heritage Foundation told Newsweek it believes the DHS has delayed the case deliberately.

Mike Howell, director of the foundation's Oversight Project, said it was "pretty sensational" that the Biden administration "opened our borders to chaos while simultaneously spending tons of taxpayer money to cover up whether an admitted drug user who happens to be the prince should have even be let in the country, let alone to stay."

Newsweek reached out to the DHS for comment.

In Spare, Harry described finding magic mushroom chocolates in a fridge during a party at Courteney Cox's house.

He wrote: "While the door was open we spotted a huge box of black diamond mushroom chocolates.

"Someone behind me said they were for everybody. Help yourself, boys. My mate and I grabbed several, gobbled them, washed them down with tequila."

And he described hallucinating in her bathroom: "Beside the toilet was a round silver bin, the kind with a foot pedal to open the lid. I stared at the bin. It stared back. 'What—staring?'

"Then it became...a head. I stepped on the pedal and the head opened its mouth. A huge open grin. I laughed, turned away, took a piss.

"Now the loo became a head too. The bowl was its gaping maw, the hinges of
the seat were its piercing silver eyes. It said: 'Aaah.' I finished, flushed, closed its mouth."

After the memoir's publication in January, Cox said she had not read it and added: "I'm not saying there were mushrooms! I definitely wasn't passing them out."

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.

Update 07/13/23, 2:02 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Mike Howell of the Heritage Foundation.