Sam Brinton, a Biden Administration Energy Department official, has been accused of stealing luggage from an airport for a second time and a felony arrest warrant has been issued.
Brinton, the gender-fluid deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Water Disposition at the U.S. Department of Energy, allegedly stole a woman’s suitcase from a Minneapolis airport in September. Now, the Biden official has been accused of a second luggage theft at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
While not a lot of details pertaining to this incident are available to the public currently, a felony warrant for Brinton, 35, has been issued on grand larceny charges with a value between $1,200 and $5,000.
This is not the first time that Brinton has been accused of stealing someone’s luggage from an airport. In September, Brinton was caught on surveillance footage stealing someone’s Vera Bradley suitcase from baggage claim at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The victim identified her stolen bag on the footage, the contents of which exceeded $2,300.
Brinton was then seen using the Vera Bradley bag on at least two occasions following the alleged theft.
There was no reason Brinton should have even been at baggage claim since he did not check a bag on his flight. However, when interviewed by police on October 9, Brinton denied he had done anything wrong.
“If I had taken the wrong bag, I am happy to return in, but I don’t have any clothes for another individual,” Brinton insisted. “That was my clothes when I opened the bag.”
Just two hours later, Brinton called the investigating officer back to apologize for not being “completely honest.” He backtracked on his initial statement, this time saying that he “got nervous” because he was worried people would think he had stolen the bag and did not “know what to do.”
Brinton added that the mistake occurred due to being “tired and taking the suitcase thinking it was theirs,” although again, Brinton had not checked a bag on the flight.
Brinton was charged with felony theft of a moveable property without consent and was placed on leave, being replaced by Kim Petr “for the foreseeable future.”
The energy department official’s hearing for this case was scheduled for December 19. If found guilty of felony theft, Brinton could face five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
The GOP has begun calling for Brinton to step down over these allegations. Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, along with 15 other Republicans, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday, demanding Brinton be removed from the department.
The House Republicans argued, “It is simply not possible for an individual to represent American values and simultaneously violate the felony laws of the land.”
“It is imperative that we do not allow a person charged with a felony to influence America’s policies,” the letter continued. “Therefore, we demand the resignation of Sam Brinton, and we implore you to set aside petty politics and appoint only the most qualified and dedicated individuals to influence America’s energy sector.”
