Nearly Considered a Criminal Offense: One America News Network
OAN Staff Blake Wolf
5:25 PM – Friday, December 20, 2024
On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump submitted an amicus brief to hinder the Biden administration from auctioning off border-wall materials.
Advertisement
The amicus brief was presented in a Texas court, requesting an immediate halt to “any ongoing sale of border-barrier materials” pending a thorough investigation into the Biden administration’s handling of the border wall.
The Biden administration was previously criticized for auctioning off incomplete sections of the border wall from the initial Trump administration, selling them at low prices online, which many viewed as an attempt to undermine the incoming administration.
“The reported ‘fire sales’ of border-wall materials by the outgoing Biden Administration raise serious concerns regarding the legality of Defendants’ actions and their adherence to the Court’s permanent injunction in this matter,” the brief stated. “The Court must immediately halt all such sales and conduct a thorough examination of the Government’s actions—employing formal discovery if required—to ensure compliance with the Constitution, the law, and the Court’s directives.”
Trump accused President Biden of deliberately undermining his efforts to secure the border, claiming that Biden’s administration “is attempting to sell it for a fraction of its value while we prepare to build it.”
“Consequently, President Trump is profoundly concerned by recent reports suggesting that Biden administration officials have been selling off border-wall materials at unprecedentedly low prices, particularly during this transition phase,” the brief elaborated.
“Any efforts by Biden officials to impede President Trump’s initiative to construct the Border Wall are unlawful, unconstitutional, and potentially criminal, as our brief argues,” remarked Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump. “The Biden Administration has a troubling record of legal violations, particularly concerning their disastrous open-border policy, so the courts should scrutinize their actions in this instance with heightened skepticism.”
The brief also highlighted Trump’s pledge to eliminate government waste and fraud, referencing an investigation led by Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), which indicated that the Biden administration is only recouping a scant 0.02% of funds from the original purchases of the materials, lending credence to Trump’s assertions of deliberate sabotage.
Furthermore, Trump’s brief contends that the Biden administration’s rationale for selling the materials, based on a clause in the National Defense Authorization Act, is unjustifiable.
In the meantime, an unnamed Defense official attempted to clarify the situation by stating that the DOD lacks “the legal authority” to prevent the resale.
“Through our reutilization, transfer, and donation processes, nearly 60% of those materials were allocated to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the unnamed Defense official explained, as reported by Fox News. “The remaining 40% was sold to GovPlanet through a competitive sales contract process initiated in June 2024. The materials currently being auctioned through GovPlanet are no longer owned by the U.S. Government, and DOD has no legal mechanisms to reclaim the materials or halt their further resale.”
Despite the official’s claim, Trump and his Republican supporters continue to express their indignation, demanding an end to the auctioning.
“What they’re doing is essentially a criminal act,” stated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “They are aware that we intend to utilize it, and if we cannot access it, we will have to reconstruct it, which will incur double the cost it did in the past, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars because of the significant scale of the project.”
“President Trump has received a clear mandate from the American people to build the wall, and I will do everything in my power to prevent any acts of sabotage from the outgoing administration,” he asserted.
Stay informed! Get breaking news delivered straight to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisements below
