Biden’s ex-DOE official, Sam Brinton, on taxpayer-funded trip during luggage theft.
OAN’s Brooke Mallory
11:36 AM – Monday, July 17, 2023
Internal Biden administration documents indicate that Sam Brinton, the disgraced “non-binary” cross-dresser and former top Department of Energy (DOE) official, was on a taxpayer-funded work trip at the time of one of his many high-profile luggage thefts last year.
According to official Department of Energy (DOE) documents and expenditure reports obtained by the watchdog organization Functional Government Initiative (FGI), Brinton visited the DOE-operated Nevada National Security Site in Las Vegas in July 2022. Brinton, according to the records, traveled aboard a United Airlines plane from Washington, D.C., to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 6th, 2022.
Brinton was charged with grand theft of an item valued between $1,200 and $5,000 months later in early December by Las Vegas prosecutors.
He was also accused of stealing luggage worth $3,670 at Harry Reid International Airport on July 6th, 2022, the same day Brinton flew to Las Vegas on his official DOE business trip.
“It’s outrageous that tax dollars transported Brinton to and from the scene of a crime, putting the American public unwittingly at the wheel of the getaway car,” FGI spokesperson Peter McGinnis said in a statement.
“The federal government obviously needs a more stringent vetting process for senior-level positions,” he added. “Senior officials committing petty crime while on the clock is a clear indication that something is dysfunctional in the personnel procedures.”
Brinton, who made headlines last year after being appointed as the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy’s deputy assistant secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposal, traveled to the Nevada National Security Site for an unspecified meeting and visit, according to the documents.
The Nevada National Security Site “is a preferred location for experiments supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship Programs, national defense programs, and national security research, development, and training programs, as well as vital programs of other federal agencies,” according to the DOE.
The DOE reported that Brinton arrived on July 6th, 2022, and stayed in the Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Las Vegas Strip until July 9th, 2022. According to a DOE expenditure report submitted in August 2022, the alleged total cost of the four-day trip was estimated to be only $1,951.50. However, considering Vegas’ typical food, drink, and entertainment rates, as well as Brinton’s extravagant lifestyle choices, many have contested that figure and accused the DOE of understating the true cost.
The DOE did not respond to a request for comment on the recent report.
Brinton avoided jail time in the grand theft case by pleading no contest and surrendering his right to a trial. Brinton was ordered to pay $3,670.74 to the victim in the case, as well as $500 in extra costs and a criminal fine. Clark County Judge Ann Zimmerman awarded Brinton a 180-day suspended jail term, which does not have to be served, and simply told Brinton to “stay out of trouble.”
Brinton also avoided jail time in a separate but related case involving the theft of $2,325 in goods from the luggage carousel at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Sept. 16th.
Additionally, the former DOE official was arrested in May in connection with yet another baggage theft, this time at the Washington, D.C.,-area Reagan National Airport in 2018.
The DOE finally announced in December that Brinton had left the agency.
After the Biden-appointed official departed the agency, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, demanded that the DOE launch an internal review into its security clearance process.
“When people are appointed to critical positions with important national security responsibilities, Americans must be confident they can be trusted,” Barrasso said. “The department must launch a thorough investigation into the vetting process. They have to respond to legitimate oversight inquiries. It’s in our national security interest.”
For the love of God. Newly-hired Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Nuclear Energy Sam Brinton with ”Admiral” Richard/Rachel Levine at the French Ambassador’s residence. Our tax dollars at work. pic.twitter.com/7UFiLKP2Jw
— IntrepidResearch (@intrepidinfo) July 15, 2022
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Now loading...