Non-binary ex-Biden official Sam Brinton was on secret taxpayer-funded trip at time of luggage theft

Sticky-fingered former Department of Energy employee Sam Brinton was on a taxpayer-funded work trip when they snatched a woman’s suitcase from a Las Vegas airport, documents obtained by The Post show.

Federal funds paid for non-binary Brinton, who uses they/them pronouns, to head to the city as a representative for the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy in July 2022, according to internal expense reports provided to The Post by the federal watchdog Functional Government Initiative (FGI).

It was during this trip that Brinton was caught on camera swiping a woman’s case, one of three incidents in which he has been accused of doing so.

“Not only did Sam Brinton commit a crime, the illegal shopping spree was funded by taxpayers,” said Pete McGinnis, FGI’s director of communications. “The pattern of petty theft shows that Brinton never should’ve been hired and given a security clearance in the first place.”

The business trip spanned from July 6 through July 9, 2022, and included a “meeting and site visit to DOE Las Vegas Site,” according to the records, which show the four-day trip cost taxpayers $1,951.50, records show. 

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During the trip, Brinton stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the famed Las Vegas Strip.

Police revealed months later the the now-ex-nuclear energy staffer had actually stolen baggage worth approximately $3,670 after landing at the Las Vegas airport.

The suitcase allegedly contained $500 in makeup, $1,700 in jewelry and $850 worth of clothes, according to its rightful owner.

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Brinton was spotted on surveillance video wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a rainbow-colored atomic nuclear symbol on the day of the alleged theft, and was seen wearing the same outfit in an image shared to their Instagram account that same day. 

Brinton ultimately pleaded no contest and was given a 180-day suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay $3,670.74 in restitution. 

They were also accused of stealing a Vera Bradley suitcase from the baggage carousel at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, in Minnesota, before removing the owner’s identification and taking off. 

Brinton claimed to investigators they took the bag by mistake and agreed to return the luggage, which was carrying items worth $2,325, thus settling the matter — but not before Brinton had allegedly used the suitcase at least twice. Brinton was let go from the Department of Energy in December 2022.

Most recently Brinton has been arrested on May 17 for a third incident involving a Houston-based fashion designer, Asya Khamsin. 

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The Tanzanian designer lost a suitcase in 2018 containing clothing she made at Reagan National Airport. She reported the suitcase stolen and was later shocked to see Brinton wearing what appeared to be her custom clothing.

Brinton was charged with being a “fugitive from justice” and spent weeks in a Montgomery County, Maryland, jail before being released on bond in June. 

Khamzin’s attorney, Peter Hansen, confirmed the arrest was related to his client’s case. 

That case is ongoing.