A high-level hire at the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, whose past as a drag queen and defender of underage gay prostitution sites has stirred controversy, is earning a salary in the top one percent of all government employees, according to documents obtained exclusively by The National Pulse.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The National Pulse reveals Sam Brinton’s taxpayer funded salary of $178,063, placing him amongst the top one percent of other federal salaries. It is also around five times the national median individual income.

Brinton, who received his job offer in allegedly strange circumstances in January 2022, will also enjoy the top secret “Q clearance” level in the Department of Energy. The designation Top Secret is applied to information, “the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.”

The DOE uses its own terminology to classify security clearances, describing the Q-level clearance as “similar to what is completed by other agencies for a Top Secret National Security Information access clearance.”

“Access to Secret Restricted Data requires a Q access authorization,” the agency continues.

The initial job description for Brinton’s post described the position’s security level as “Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk.” The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) describes what this classification entails:

“Potential exists to bring about a material adverse effect on the national security, causing exceptionally grave damage. Any position receiving a position sensitivity designation of CS shall automatically carry with that designation, without further agency action, a High Risk designation.”

Brinton’s personal posts have also revealed the gravity of his appointment, sharing on Twitter on June 29th:

“I lead a staff of hundreds and a budget of millions (with a Nuclear Waste Fund I’m responsible for at over $45 billion) as the leader of the office overseeing the management of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel.”

The revelations follow The National Pulse exposé of appointee Samuel Brinton’s past as a drag queen, LGBTQ+ activist who has “lectured” on kink at college campuses and participated in interviews about fetish roleplay.