Sam Brinton to undergo mental health evaluation

Sam Brinton, the disgraced former Biden administration official accused of stealing luggage on at least two separate occasions, has agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation as part of a Minnesota’s adult diversion program.

Brinton, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, appeared remotely Monday at a Hennepin County Court hearing stemming from a luggage theft incident that occurred in September at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

In addition to having to undergo a mental health evaluation, Brinton will be required to write a letter of apology to the victim, return any stolen property and perform three days of community service, local news station Fox9 reported.

Adult diversion programs are aimed at first-time, nonviolent offenders. Those who successfully meet program expectations could potentially see their case dismissed.

Had Brinton’s case in Minnesota proceeded to trial and resulted in a conviction on a charge of felony theft of a movable property without consent, they could have been looking at up to five years in prison.

Hennepin County prosecutors alleged that Brinton was caught on surveillance video on the afternoon of September 16 pulling another traveler’s navy-blue Vera Bradley suitcase from the baggage carousel and removing the owner’s ID tag from the luggage, before walking away with their loot.

Cops tracked Brinton to the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront Hotel and confronted them, asking if Brinton took anything that did not belong to them. The Biden administration official was quoted as telling police, “Not that I know of.”

But two hours after that initial exchange, Brinton called the police and apologized for not being “completely honest.”

Brinton ultimately admitted to taking the suitcase but claimed that it was an accident and said that they were willing to return it, along with its contents valued at $2,325.

Last week, Brinton pleaded no contest to stealing another woman’s suitcase at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas in July 2022.

In that case, the ex-Department of Energy official was also spared jail time after being handed a 180-day suspended sentence. As part of the plea deal, Brinton’s felony charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor.

A Nevada judge also ordered Brinton to pay $3,670.74 in restitution to the victim for the luggage, which contained $1,700 worth of jewelry, $800 in clothes and makeup estimated at $500.

In the wake of the back-to-back luggage heists, Brinton has been fired from their job as deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy.