EXCLUSIVE — Conservative watchdog groups are calling on President Joe Biden's Energy Department to launch an internal investigation into its security clearance process after the agency fired Sam Brinton — the nonbinary nuclear waste official being charged with felony theft and grand larceny.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate GOP Conference and the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said on Tuesday that the Energy Department should look into its "failed security clearance process" and how it vetted Brinton. Now, three watchdogs tell the Washington Examiner that such an investigation is warranted to safeguard public trust and provide information on who exactly is awarded security clearances.
"The American people need to know the security clearance process is focused on safeguarding secrets, not on ensuring that politically correct activists with problematic backgrounds still get jobs," said Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation.
NONBINARY EX-BIDEN NUCLEAR OFFICIAL SAM BRINTON MUST FACE INVESTIGATION: SENATOR
In January, Brinton was appointed as deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the Energy Department's Office of Nuclear Energy. The former official has been charged with allegedly stealing a suitcase in September valued at $2,325 and, in July, a suitcase valued at $3,670, according to the Justice Department.
Brinton, 35, faces up to 15 years in prison. The former official oversaw a $45 million budget and 100 employees in his brief time at the Energy Department.
A prospective official must disclose personal information dating back to at least 10 years in order to obtain a security clearance. Questions often pertain to mental health and finances so the federal government can ensure the official can be trusted and is unlikely to be blackmailed.
In a 2018 New York Times op-ed, Brinton described an allegedly traumatic upbringing in which the ex-official was "tortured." Any prior administration would have read this article and determined that Brinton was unfit to be appointed to the Energy Department, a former DOJ official told the Daily Caller.
Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, another watchdog, agrees with the American Accountability Foundation that an investigation should take place. But Kamenar also said the DOJ should charge Brinton with violating a certain federal law related to stealing articles in interstate commerce.
"The federal law specifically mentions stealing from airport terminals and has been used to prosecute airport baggage handlers stealing luggage," he told the Washington Examiner.
On Tuesday, Barrasso told the Washington Examiner that "felons should not be entrusted with security clearances." Since July, the senator has sent three letters to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm demanding information on security clearances and the Biden administration's vetting process.
While Republicans and conservative groups are sounding the alarm on Brinton's hiring in the wake of the DOJ charging him, concerns about Brinton's appointment were echoed back in February. That month, an anonymous Energy Department official penned a letter to the agency's inspector general that raised concerns over the fact that Brinton "has no prior federal government experience" and "no executive management or operations experience."
"We now know that there have been multiple incidents of theft committed by Brinton," said Pete McGinnis, a spokesman for the Functional Government Initiative, a watchdog that filed a Freedom of Information Act request to the Energy Department for Brinton's calendar and travel records.
"This is clearly a pattern, and it raises questions about the security clearance process, including interim security clearances, to see if it needs to be revised to make sure individuals like Brinton are identified before incidents like this happen," he told the Washington Examiner.
Before joining the federal government, Brinton worked at a variety of think tanks. He was once a "clean energy fellow" at Third Way, a center-left dark money nonprofit group.
Between 2017 and 2020, Brinton also worked as head of advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project, an LGBT nonprofit organization focused on youth suicide prevention, according to Brinton's LinkedIn. While working there in 2019, Brinton helped craft a model school policy that put restrictions on teachers talking to parents or guardians if their LGBT child is suicidal.
"In addition, our research shows that more than half of LGBTQ youth are not out to a single adult in school; these policies show LGBTQ youth, out or not, that their school is a safe place for them to learn, and that school staff are prepared to help them in times of crisis," wrote Brinton in a September 2019 press release.
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The Energy Department did not respond to requests for comment.
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Tags: Biden Administration, Department of Energy, LGBT
Original Author: Gabe Kaminsky
Original Location: Watchdogs demand Biden investigation after firing of nonbinary official Sam Brinton
