Trump sends amicus brief to ‘immediately’ stop sale of Biden wall, says conduct ‘potentially criminal’

President-elect Donald Trump filed an amicus brief Thursday in support of Texas and Missouri’s legislative effort to “immediately” stop the sale of border wall assets to the Biden administration, saying the move is “potentially criminal.”

Texas and Missouri filed a request earlier this week in the district court in the southern district of Texas to hold a status conference to determine whether the government is violating a court order from earlier this year. That order prohibits the Biden administration from using funds obligated to build the wall for anything other than that purpose.

‘THE DEPRESSION RESPONSE’: NATIONS DEMAND COURT ACTION AGAINST BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘SHAMEFUL DISPOSAL’ OF BANDA

“The Court should issue an injunction directing the Defendants to immediately cease any further sales of contraband to private parties until the Court reviews the Defendant’s conduct, and the Court should immediately review the conduct of the Government, by formal discovery if necessary, to assess the Government’s compliance with the law, the Constitution, and the Court’s rulings, ” said Trump.

The Biden administration has been auctioning off parts of the border wall since at least 2023 with parts listed for auction, after abruptly shutting down most wall construction in 2021.

Those auctions have continued, with border officials telling Fox that auctions are now happening weekly and have been for a long time. But the practice made headlines last week when The Daily Wire published a video showing the parts being transported, and quoted Border Patrol agents who said the goal was to remove them before Christmas.

Trump’s amicus says that if Biden administration officials “intentionally sell border wall materials at a significant financial loss to the Government in order to thwart the pro-wall policy of Congress and President Trump, that conduct may constitute a criminal act, such as conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

“At the very least, the reported behavior raises serious concerns about potentially criminal behavior,” the document said.

GOP SENATOR MOVES TO BLOCK FUNDING ON NETWORK ISSUES Amid AUCTION BACKLASH

A senior defense official told Fox News last week that the Pentagon was canceling overbuilding of the wall in accordance with the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the secretary of defense to submit a plan to use, transfer or donate all remaining wall materials purchased. with Pentagon funds. That program was launched in March.

The official said border states, including Texas, were given priority for those items to buy before the sale. The official also said the equipment no longer belongs to the US government, adding that the Defense Department has no legal authority to recall the equipment or stop its resale.

“Through our recycling, transfer and donation program, approximately 60% of those items have been transferred to authorized recipients, including US Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the official said. “The remaining 40 percent was sold to GovPlanet under a competitive bidding contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GovPlanet’s online auctions is no longer owned by the US Government, and DOD does not have the legal authority to recall that material or stop proceeding. the resale of things that no longer have.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BORDER SECURITY ISSUE

But those statements did not stop the anger of Republicans, who see the auction as a step to stop the Trump administration from building the wall. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., introduced legislation this week to stop the auctions.

Meanwhile, Trump said Monday that he was working with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others to get the resources.

This March 2, 2019, file photo shows a Customs and Border Control agent patrolling the US side of a razor-thin border wall along the Mexican border east of Nogales, Ariz. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

What they are doing is really an act, almost a criminal act,” he said. “They know we’re going to use it, and if we don’t have it, we’re going to have to rebuild it. And it’s going to cost twice as much as it did years ago, and that’s hundreds of millions of dollars because you’re talking about a lot of wall.”

Paxton said in a statement that Texas will go to court to “prevent any border security supplies from being illegally sold and find out what the federal government is doing to dismantle the construction of the border wall.”

‘STANDING TO HELP’: RED STATE UNVEILS PURCHASING PLAN FOR TRUMP’S NEWSPAPERS

“President Trump has a strong mandate from the American people to build a wall and I will do everything in my power to prevent any acts of destruction by the outgoing administration,” he said.

Texas has said it intends to do everything it can to help the incoming administration build a wall on the southern border when Trump takes office.

“It’s the latest effort by the Biden Administration to block President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to protect Texas the southern border It’s absolutely shameful and shows the continued disregard for the safety of Texas and American families in favor of increasingly open border policies,” said Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.

Officials said this week they intend to buy the auctioned items, and Buckingham said he intends to keep them on state land for the new administration to manage.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM

“I made a promise to use every tool at my disposal in the GLO to secure our border and protect Texans,” Buckingham said in a statement to Fox. “That’s why I’ve given the nation’s leaders and President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to keep any wall panels his incoming administration can find in the state. I will never give up the fight to secure our southern border and protect our sons and daughters from violent, criminal illegal immigrants.”

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.