Contrary to some of my earlier assumptions, it appears that there actually is a limit to the amount of embarrassment the Biden administration is willing to tolerate before they will take action. Biden’s gender-fluid and sticky-fingered deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition, Sam Brinton, is no longer employed at the Department of Energy. This change in his employment status was confirmed in an email from the DOE to the Washington Examiner this week. The DOE spokesperson would not specify whether Brinton had resigned voluntarily or was fired, saying only that he “is no longer a DOE employee.” So what comes next for Brinton? He hasn’t surfaced to make a comment yet, but he almost certainly has two different felony trials awaiting him in Minnesota and Nevada. (Assuming more videos of him snatching other people’s luggage don’t emerge.)

Former Department of Energy official Sam Brinton no longer works for the department, a spokesperson told the Washington Examiner on Monday, amid allegations that Brinton has been involved in multiple luggage thefts.

“Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee. By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters,” the department spokesperson said in an email.

Prior to Monday’s report, the department claimed that Brinton, who is nonbinary, was placed on leave but refused to comment on whether the leave was paid. It is not clear whether Brinton resigned or was fired from the department.

This news broke on the same day that police in Nevada issued a felony arrest warrant for Brinton on grand larceny charges. The first heist in Minnesota supposedly only involved some high-end women’s clothing. But the Vegas robbery also allegedly netted him thousands of dollars worth of jewelry.

The value of the luggage and jewelry in the Nevada robbery is well above the $1,200 threshold required to qualify for a grand larceny charge. If convicted, the penalty can be up to one to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Of course, assuming he had no priors, he could get a significantly more lenient sentence. (Somebody did check to see if he had a criminal record before they hired him, right? Right?)

Of course, if he has to face two consecutive trials, he will have a prior conviction on his record for the second appearance. That might result in the judge throwing the book at him. Unless, of course, he finds some sympathetic soul to offer him a pardon.

We’ll probably get in trouble for writing about this story. We’ve already been informed that talking about Brinton’s thefts is nothing but right-wing bigotry. But that doesn’t change the facts as they’ve been presented. I’m not even using the word “alleged” when describing the thefts because Brinton was caught on camera both times. And his excuse about having “picked up the wrong bag” isn’t going to hold up in court because he was photographed wearing the stolen clothing and baubles after the fact.

But this is a story about more than a couple of thefts. Sam Brinton got his job for the same reason that Pete Buttigieg did. They are both members of special, protected political classes who are granted rights and privileges unavailable to you. Brinton was selected precisely for his over-the-top shows of “fabulousness” to demonstrate how committed the Biden administration is to diversity and to demonstrate that someone who looks that notably “different” from your typical government official can be every bit as capable, competent, and responsible as the next guy or gal. Except, in the case of Sam Brinton, that didn’t turn out to be true at all.