The CIA has placed multiple senior officials on administrative leave following the arrest of a high-ranking officer accused of stashing roughly $40 million in gold bars at his residence, according to three sources familiar with the personnel moves.
David Rush, a CIA officer working on one of the government's most sensitive programs, was arrested in Virginia on May 19. He faces charges related to falsifying his work credentials and education history. A court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
The suspended officials are being reviewed for their oversight of Rush's expense requests and for how they handled early warnings that something might be amiss. The exact number of officials placed on leave and the timing of those decisions remain unclear. The CIA has declined to comment on the matter, and Rush's legal team offered no statement.
The case has intensified following NBC News reporting that exposed additional details, sparking alarm among members of Congress over how the agency entrusted classified secrets to someone with questionable credentials. On Wednesday, CIA representatives and federal officials briefed lawmakers on the Rush matter.
Court documents charge Rush with submitting fraudulent timesheets claiming membership in the Navy Reserve, which he did not hold. The filings also detail how Rush requested and received substantial amounts of foreign currency and gold bars from the CIA under the guise of work-related expenses. Much of what was provided could not be located during agency review.
When FBI agents executed a search warrant at Rush's Virginia home last month, they recovered approximately 303 gold bars, $2 million in cash, and more than 30 luxury watches, according to court affidavits.
Rush spent roughly 17 years at the CIA and held a position as a liaison to the Defense Department, working on a sensitive nuclear submarine program. He received the assignment at the request of Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, with whom sources say Rush maintained a close professional relationship over many years.
The Pentagon has forcefully disputed this characterization. Chief spokesman Sean Parnell called the claim of a close relationship "completely false," stating that Feinberg "never supported Mr. Rush's career at any point in his life, nor did he endorse Mr. Rush for any career position." Feinberg, who founded the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, has not been accused of wrongdoing.
The CIA acknowledged that an internal investigation had flagged potential legal violations by Rush before referring the matter to federal law enforcement.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This isn't just about one rogue officer with expensive tastes, it's a damning question about why the agency's vetting and oversight failed so spectacularly at the highest levels."
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