What in the world was he doing letting TSA touch his wallet?? They need to see your ID and unless your wallet has metal in it you should be able to carry it through the metal detector. If not bury it deep in your carry on so they can scan it but can’t get to it fast. I’m sure some of the TSA are good folks but many are rather low rent. The “favorite” for me so far is Atlanta. Even though they didn’t treat me too bad when I forgot and left a knife in my bag, of course they thought their “barrel” would get it but I was able to stash it in a bush outside the terminal and retrieve it a couple of weeks later on my return.