Outrage: Ex-Biden Nuclear Official Sam Brinton Was on 'Secret Taxpayer-funded Trip' During July 2022 Luggage Theft
July 17 2023, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Disgraced former nuclear official Sam Brinton was reportedly on a taxpayer-funded trip to Nevada when they stole nearly $4,000 worth of luggage from an airport last year, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a sudden development to come weeks after Brinton pleaded “no contest” to the charges against them and received a suspended sentence of 180 days in prison for the theft, internal Biden administration documents revealed that Brinton was traveling on a taxpayer-funded business trip at the time of the high-profile crime.
According to the documents, President Joe Biden’s now-fired Department of Energy official flew on a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C. to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 6, 2022.
Brinton reportedly traveled to the DOE-operated Nevada National Security Site just outside Las Vegas for an "unspecified meeting and site visit."
A newly revealed DOE expense report filed in August 2022 found that Brinton’s four-day trip to Nevada last year cost taxpayers approximately $1,951.50.
They reportedly checked into the Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Las Vegas Strip on July 6, 2022 and checked out four days later on July 9, 2022.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Brinton was ultimately charged with grand larceny in December 2022 after it was revealed the then-Biden nuclear official stole approximately $3,670 worth of luggage at Harry Reid International Airport on July 6, 2022.
Brinton pleaded “no contest” to the charge in April 2023 and was subsequently ordered to pay the rightful owner of the stolen luggage $3,670.74.
Brinton was also slapped with $500 in fines and received a 180-day suspended jail sentence by Clark County Judge Ann Zimmerman.
“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," Peter McGinnis, the spokesperson for the watchdog group Functional Government Initiative, told Fox News on Monday.
"The federal government obviously needs a more stringent vetting process for senior-level positions," he continued. "Senior officials committing petty crime while on the clock is a clear indication that something is dysfunctional in the personnel procedures."
Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming also slammed Brinton's luggage theft and demanded an internal investigation be opened into the DOE’s security clearance process.
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"It is clear as day that felons should not hold security clearances," Barrasso told Fox News. "For months, I’ve been demanding answers from the Department of Energy on their failed security clearance process. Secretary Granholm has provided none."
Brinton was also accused of stealing luggage from at least two other airports – including Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on September 16, 2022 and Reagan National Airport in 2018.
