Revealed: Sam Brinton lived high on the hog on the taxpayers’ dime

Via the release of official government records, we’re now learning a bit more about how Joe Biden’s “fabulous” former DOE deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition wound up being arrested as a luggage thief and trading in his sparkling bracelets for the type that lock behind one’s back. First of all, what was Sam Brinton doing in July of last year when he was spotted on security video removing a woman’s luggage from the airport in Las Vegas? It turns out that he was on his way to conduct some unspecified government business at one of the Department of Energy’s most secure national security research facilities in Nevada. And he had himself quite a time on that trip by all accounts, charging all of his expenses for the excellent adventure to you, the taxpayers. (National Review)

Former Biden administration nuclear official Sam Brinton was on a taxpayer-funded government business trip when he was caught trying to steal airport luggage, according to newly revealed Department of Energy documents.

Brinton, who identifies as “non-binary” and dresses in woman’s clothes, traveled in early July 2022 to the DOE’s Nevada national security site outside Las Vegas as part of his role as deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the office of nuclear energy, according to internal documents obtained by watchdog group Functional Government Initiative (FGI) and first reported by Fox News.

Brinton took a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 6, 2022, the records indicate. In early December, authorities announced there was a federal warrant out for Brinton’s arrest on grand larceny charges for stealing property worth between $1,200 and $5,000. Police said Brinton was captured on surveillance footage leaving the airport with a suitcase containing an estimated $3,500 value of jewelry, clothing, and makeup on July 6, 2022.

First of all, Sam Brinton was not on vacation or on his own time. He was traveling on official business to a highly secure location, presumably for an important reason. But he elected to use some of that time to pull off a heist. As Peter McGinnis, a spokesman for Functional Government Initiative, the group that obtained the documents put it, Brinton’s actions should be viewed as an outrage to the public. “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,” he said.

We shouldn’t read too much into the fact that the DOE isn’t revealing the purpose of Brinton’s trip to Nevada. Pretty much everything they do is classified. And I suppose we can be at least partially thankful that Brinton flew to Vegas on a commercial flight, rather than using a private jet like so many other Biden favorites. But once he arrived, he didn’t exactly look for a Motel 6 to save us any money. Fabulous Sam stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Las Vegas Strip and ran up a hefty tab.

And then there’s the matter of how Brinton wound up being arrested in May over the Nevada incident. A neighbor reported that four “unmarked police” (perhaps unmarked cars?) showed up at the home of Brinton and his husband. They refused to allow the spouse to leave the home and Brinton was removed in handcuffs an hour later, presumably following a search of the house for more stolen fashionware and jewelry.

This is yet another reminder of how the woke priorities of the Biden administration continue to embarrass America on the global stage. Sam Brinton’s appointment to a senior position in the DOE was hailed as “historic.” But in reality, he was just another showboat who didn’t face any serious vetting and was given a position because he checked some boxes on the woke spectrum. He was given an important job requiring a very high security clearance and he treated it like a joke he could use to generate more content for his social media video stream.

This is who was charged with handling issues dealing with nuclear energy and spent fuel waste? Our adversaries are laughing at us and our allies are growing increasingly nervous, and for good reason. These are the fruits of the war on merit. And we look pretty pathetic.