UNITED STATES—Samuel Brinton, a top Biden Administrator in the Department of Nuclear Energy is facing felony theft charges, and jail time after being caught stealing a bag from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on September 16.
Felony theft in the state of Minnesota is punishable by 10-20 years of prison plus $20,000-$100,000 in fines.
Airport officials captured footage of Brinton taking a suitcase from the baggage claim carousel that was reported missing by a female passenger. Brinton was seen removing the tag from the luggage and walking out of the airport.
The State of Minnesota County of Hennepin, District Court 4th Judicial District filed a complaint against Brinton. According to the complaint, Brinton was summonsed to court for “Intentionally, and without claim of right, took, used, transferred, concealed or obtained possession of moveable property from a victim without consent…”
What this individual was seen taking was a 26-inch rolling hard case Vera Bradley bag. Law enforcement confirmed that Brinton did not check a bag.
On October 9, the defendant denied purposefully taking a bag and said, “If I had taken a bag that belonged to another individual, I would be happy to return it, but I do not have clothes that belong to another individual.”
Court records indicate that approximately two hours later, Brinton admitted to not being “completely honest” and confessed to taking the bag. The contents of the bag reportedly were reported to have an estimated worth of $2,325.00
Brinton graduated from the University of Kansas with a Master of Science in Nuclear engineering and vocal voice. In 2016, Brinton worked as a senior analyst for the Bipartisan Policy Center and lobbied for upgraded nuclear waste policies.
President Biden appointed Brinton to the Department of Nuclear Energy as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Spent fuel and Waste Disposition. Samuel is the first non-binary individual to be appointed to the federal government.
