President-elect Donald Trump took an unprecedented step by filing an amicus brief in a legal battle involving outgoing President Joe Biden’s defiant decision to sell off border wall materials initially designated to secure the U.S.-Mexico border wall. Trump, who made the construction of the border wall a cornerstone of his first presidency, sharply criticized the Biden Administration's "fire sale" of such materials, suggesting the action is "possibly criminal."
Late Thursday, Trump took legal matters to a Texas court to urge a federal judge to immediately halt the ongoing sale of border-barrier materials until a thorough investigation of the Biden Administration’s conduct regarding the border wall is complete. The brief, written on behalf of Trump by his attorney, John Sauer, demanded that it be reviewed to determine whether the Biden Administration illegally went against the law, the Constitution, and the Court's injunction. Trump’s amicus briefing follows a motion filed by Texas and Missouri this week to hold a status conference to determine if the outgoing president violated the court’s permanent injunction earlier this year.
It was revealed that the Biden Administration has been quietly selling border wall material since 2023. A defense official initially claimed the unused material was offered to "authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California.” However, the remaining 40 percent of the material was found to be auctioned off to GovPlanet “under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024.” The official said the Department of Defense (DOD) has no legal authority to rescind the border wall material it has already sold or stop the sale.
The Trump team claimed that the Biden Administration is "deliberately selling off border-wall materials at a major financial loss to the Government to obstruct the pro-wall policy of Congress and President Trump.” They said the move constitutes a criminal act, such as “conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
“At the very least, the reported conduct raises troubling concerns of potentially criminal behavior," the filing reads.
Trump has vowed to restart construction on the border wall within his first 100 days if re-elected. However, he noted that President Biden's decision to sell off the construction materials will significantly increase costs, potentially doubling what it originally cost during Trump’s first term.