Following a Freedom of Information Act request for an unrelated lawsuit, the Department of Homeland Security released records of former First Lady Melania Trump’s mother’s immigration papers, as well as other information about Amalia Knavs.
Even though the records are of her mother, Melania is fit to be tied about a “potential security threat” she apparently feels she now faces. In fact, she’s gotten her own legal team involved, although the preliminary statement came from her mother’s immigration lawyer.
Michael Wildes, Knavs’s attorney, told a news outlet that “Mrs. Trump is exploring all options, we spoke yesterday,” indicating the former FLOTUS herself is springing into action over what her legal team is calling a “breach.”
It’s not a breach, of course. The fact is, the release was perfectly legal and, in fact, required under federal law. What was NOT required was for the organization who requested it to publish the 165 pages of files.
And there lies the irony in this story: The organization who made all of the information public, as they were legally allowed but not required to do, is conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. That’s the outfit behind Project 2025, the presidential transition plan that outlines the conservative agenda [1] for America as it would look under a new Trump administration.
Heritage obtained the FOIA documents from DHS in the course of a lawsuit they have against DHS over the immigration papers of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. Harry’s immigration information is held by DHS under different regulations than standard circumstances due to his position in the British Royal Family.
Wildes’s statement went on:
The U.S. government has once again not paid adequate attention to the security and safety of a former First Family. We find it mean-spirited and insensitive to drag a totally innocent party into whatever issue they have with Prince Harry. To say nothing of the potential security threat to the former First Lady and her surviving family members. I was there when she was tested and sworn. It was a solemn and meaningful moment.
The information that was published included a copy of Amalia’s passport, her naturalization certificate, and a copy of her permanent residency card. There are also “details of holiday destinations and a number of past addresses, including both in America and from her time living in Slovenia,” according to Newsweek.
Wildes spoke to another news agency and was equally adamant that the government had done something wrong, despite the fact that it was Heritage who was “mean-spirited” enough to make the information they obtained public.
“Mrs. Trump is rightfully upset,” he said. “This egregious and abhorrent violation of Ms. Knavs’s immigration file—including highly sensitive medical information and addresses that impact her family’s security—is an outlandish affront, not just to Ms. Knavs, and her family including former First Lady Melania Trump, but also to the very notions of confidentiality and privacy.
“That the DHS released Ms. Knavs’s immigration file after only 11 days further screams the impropriety of this request. How could the DOJ and Secret Service allow this breach?”
The lawyer can’t seem to make up his mind.
Either the government is incompetent, or they’re very efficient in the limited time it took them to comply with the request. Either the release of the information is DHS’s fault, or it’s Heritage and the “impropriety” of their request for the information that’s out of bounds to the Knavs/Trump families.
Heritage was after Harry’s files because they don’t think he should have been allowed to come to America. The psychology there is deep, but Republicans hate Prince Harry for a multitude of reasons, not least of which is his criticism of American conservative politics and his commitment to philanthropy and charity.
The organization’s lawsuit against DHS is an effort to overturn a DC judge’s ruling that DHS was within their rights to refuse to release Harry’s records. They argue that Harry should have disclosed past drug use — his book Spare recounts past use of marijuana, cocaine, and hallucinogens like psychoactive mushrooms and ayahuasca.
Further, they say that if Harry DID reveal his drug use (a detail they hoped to glean from their FOIA request), then he should have been refused a visa. Heritage lawyers are on the right track if they want to embarrass Harry — although he’s already publicly admitted he used drugs — but they’re off base if they think there’s a legal problem.
If Harry had been convicted of a drug crime, it’s possible he could have been refused entry. Even in that scenario, approval happens on a case-by-case basis.
Either way, Melania, her lawyers, and her mother’s immigration lawyer are all mad at the wrong people. DHS was doing their job, and never published anything. The Heritage Foundation made the request, and they publicly displayed the results.
Also of note: It’s likely that DHS agreed to release Knavs’s records because she died at the beginning of the year.