Baggage check: Biden administration won’t say if luggage-stealing nonbinary official Sam Brinton is still on payroll
Asher Notheis
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The Biden administration still has not clarified whether an official in the Department of Energy is still on payroll in the days since a story that the official was charged with stealing luggage went viral.
Sam Brinton, a biological male who identifies as nonbinary, has been placed on leave by the energy department following the news regarding the luggage. However, the department still has not said whether Brinton has received payment from the government in the wake of the alleged theft, despite multiple requests for comment by Fox News on Thursday.
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Brinton has denied stealing anything but admitted to taking the Vera Bradley suitcase worth $2,325, telling a police officer who had called to inquire about the incident, “I don’t have any clothes for another individual.”
After receiving a missing bag complaint, law enforcement obtained video surveillance footage showing Brinton taking the suitcase from a baggage carousel at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Court documents allege that Brinton did not originally check a bag when departing from Washington heading to Minnesota.
“[Brinton] removed the blue bag’s tag and put the bag tag in the handbag they were carrying,” the court documents read. “Defendant then left the area at a quick pace.”
Brinton serves as the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, a position in which the official has served since June earlier this year.
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If convicted, Brinton could be sentenced to up to five years behind bars, a fine of $10,000, or both.
The Washington Examiner has contacted the Department of Energy for comment.