Biden Administration REFUSES To Confirm Whether Drag Queen Energy Official Samuel Brinton Is Still Being Paid After 'Stealing' Woman's Suitcase
Dec. 2 2022, Published 3:48 p.m. ET
President Joe Biden’s administration has refused to confirm whether Samuel Brinton is still being paid after being charged with theft for allegedly stealing a woman’s suitcase from an airport baggage claim, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The surprising development comes just days after Brinton, who became the first non-binary person to accept a leadership position in federal government in June, reportedly admitted to accidentally taking another person’s bag from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
But when pressed about the incident on Friday, and asked whether Brinton is still being paid despite being on leave from their top nuclear waste position within the Department of Energy, the Biden Administration refused to respond.
According to the New York Post, who emailed the DOE about the matter, the department confirmed Brinton was placed on leave as a result of the recent charge but refused to confirm whether the 34-year-old is still receiving a government check.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Brinton was charged for theft in October following allegations they took a woman’s Vera Bradley suitcase from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport baggage claim on September 16.
Although Brinton initially denied taking the suitcase, which reportedly contained $2,325 worth of valuables, they later amended their statement and claimed they took the bag by accident as a result of exhaustion at the time.
“If I had taken the wrong bag, I am happy to return it, but I don’t have any clothes for another individual,” Brinton initially told an officer in October. “That was my clothes when I opened the bag.”
Shortly after denying the allegations, Brinton reportedly called the officer back to say they had not been “completely honest” and “admitted to taking the blue bag.”
According to Brinton’s modified statement, they accidentally took the suitcase as a result of being “tired” and “thinking it was theirs.” Brinton also claimed they were “nervous people would think they stole the bag” and therefore “did not know what to do.”
Brinton also claimed they ditched the clothes inside the suitcase at the time of the alleged theft in a hotel room after they realized the bag’s contents were not theirs.
Footage obtained during the one month between allegedly taking the bag and being charged for theft showed Brinton using the stolen suitcase repeatedly – including during at least two trips to Washington, D.C. in late September.
Brinton has since been charged with felony theft of a moveable property without consent and faces a $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison if found guilty.