President-elect Donald Trump in a filing Thursday night demanded that a federal judge halt the Biden administration’s alleged “fire sale” of US border wall materials before he returns to the White House.
Trump’s lawyer John Sauer asked Judge Drew Tipton in the Southern District of Texas to investigate an explosive report showing that southern border wall slats are being secretly hauled away and auctioned off for as low as $5.
The incoming president is “deeply troubled” about the border fencing being peddled by President Biden, Sauer wrote in the 22-page filing, arguing the current administration’s actions, if proven, would “threaten to encroach unlawfully” on Trump’s executive authority.
“If the current Administration is selling off border-wall materials at rock-bottom prices, imposing financial losses on the United States in an attempt to defeat the pro-wall policy of President Trump, it is unlawfully encroaching on the incoming Administration’s exercise of the Executive Power,” Sauer said.
“The Court should order an immediate stop of all such sales and perform a searching examination of the Government’s conduct — by ordering formal discovery if necessary — to ensure compliance with the Constitution, the law, and the Court’s orders.”
The Biden administration is selling the unused southern border segments at GovPlanet, an online federal equipment marketplace, the Daily Wire reported last week.
A Border Patrol agent told the outlet, which captured footage of the construction materials being transported, that the Biden admin is “taking it from three stations” with the goal of completing the operation “before Christmas.”
“That is material that should be used in future border construction, including under President Trump once he takes office in a month — and the people who purchase the material know that,” Sauer seethed.
“This Court should carefully probe the facts, including the Government’s account of its behavior … to determine whether these reported fire sales are an ‘experimentation with disobedience,’” he added.
“This scrutiny should be particularly exacting and skeptical because the Biden Administration has been an egregious repeat violator of the law — especially when it comes to its mismanagement of the border.”
Trump directly called out Biden for the border wall sale during his press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, claiming his predecessor was committing an “almost criminal act.”
“I’m asking today, Joe Biden to please stop selling the wall,” the once and future president declared. “We’re going to use that to create a strong barrier.”
“It’s very expensive, and now it’s about double the price of what it would have been six years ago, and the administration is trying to sell it for five cents on the dollar, knowing that we’re getting ready to put it up,” he told reporters during a 70-minute session at the Palm Beach, Fla., resort.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to The Post, “Any attempt by Biden officials to obstruct President Trump’s plan to build the Border Wall is unlawful, unconstitutional, and possibly criminal, as our brief argues.”
“The Biden Administration has an egregious history of violating the law, especially in its catastrophic open-border policy, so the courts should review their actions here with particular skepticism. President Trump will not be deterred from Building the Wall, securing our border, and Making America Great Again,” Cheung added.
The White House and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
