Sam Brinton, Biden’s gender-fluid Energy Department official has been fired after multiple charges of luggage theft from airports.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy confirmed that Brinton had been released from his position as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Water Disposition at the U.S. Department of Energy.
The spokesperson told The Daily Beast, “Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee. By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters.”
In September, Brinton, 35, was accused of stealing a woman’s suitcase at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after being caught on surveillance footage lifting the luggage from baggage claim despite not even having checked a bag on the flight. The contents of the stolen bag exceeded $2,300.
Brinton was spotted using the stolen bag at least two separate times after the alleged theft.
When the police interviewed Brinton about the luggage, the DOE official denied any wrongdoing, saying, “If I had taken the wrong bag, I am happy to return it, but I don’t have any clothes for another individual. That was my clothes when I opened the bag.”
However, two hours after making this statement to the police, Brinton called the investigating officer and apologized for not being “completely honest,” and then proceeded to change the initial story. Brinton retracted his initial statement, saying that he had, in fact, taken someone else’s luggage, using the excuse of being “tired and taking the suitcase thinking it was theirs,” even though he did not bring a checked bag on the flight.
According to Brinton, he lied about the circumstances because he “got nervous” and was worried that people would think he had stolen the bag and did not “know what to do.”
After lying to the police about taking the bag, Brinton was charged with felony theft of a moveable property and was placed on leave by the energy department.
Just last week, Brinton was accused of a second luggage theft at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The 35-year-old was subsequently issued a felony warrant on grand larceny charges with a value between $1,200 and $5,000.
Brinton’s hearing for the first alleged theft is scheduled for December 19. If found guilty of felony theft, Brinton could face five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
