CIA officer arrested with gold bars accused of making up top secret program, sources say - BERITAJA

WASHINGTON — The CIA serviceman recovered pinch $40 cardinal successful golden bars stashed astatine his location is accused of creating a clone apical concealed intelligence programme to person authorities costs for his individual enrichment, according to 2 group pinch knowledge of the ongoing investigation.

David Rush has been accused of exploiting the spy agency’s elaborate secrecy precautions that strictly limit delicate accusation about specified apical concealed programs to only those who “need to know,” these group said.

Rush is accused of creating a sham authorities statement arsenic portion of the program, the sources said, and inviting 2 of his CIA colleagues to participate successful helping tally it, they said. One of those colleagues transferred millions of dollars to the invented program, the group acquainted pinch the investigation said.

Because Rush claimed the task was an ultrasecret “special entree program,” his co-workers would person been prohibited from speaking about it pinch different employees, the group acquainted pinch the investigation said. They did not cognize whether the different labor were alert of the alleged strategy aliases were unwitting accomplices.

The Washington Post first reported the allegations that Rush fabricated the program.

Rush was arrested past period and charged pinch 1 count of theft of nationalist money, accused of filing mendacious clip sheets by saying he was a personnel of the Naval Reserve. Some of the accusations against him successful tribunal documents are acold much serious. His lawyer had nary remark Monday.

Rush has not yet entered a plea. On Friday, a judge ordered that he stay down bars successful Alexandria, Virginia, pending trial, siding pinch the prosecution’s statement that he posed a imaginable formation risk. He is nary longer pinch the CIA.

The fictional programme was expected to impact contingency plans to support the authorities operating successful the arena of a atomic warfare aliases different dire emergency, one of the group said.

Rush is suspected of having a authorities defense contractor acquisition ample amounts of gold, based connected the allegedly fraudulent contract, the personification said.

There is nary denotation truthful acold that Rush was acting connected behalf of a overseas power, according to 1 of the group pinch knowledge of the lawsuit and 3 others who besides had knowledge of the case.

The lawsuit has raised questions about really the CIA and different authorities departments vet labor and really the agency safeguards secrets.

Beritaja has reported that respective elder officials astatine the CIA person been placed connected leave complete the case.

Rush worked successful the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology and was a liaison to the Defense Department for a delicate atomic submarine program. He was fixed the duty astatine the petition of Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, pinch whom he had a adjacent master narration complete the years, Beritaja has reported.

Feinberg, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, was a awesome philanthropist to President Donald Trump’s campaigns and founded the backstage equity patient Cerberus Capital Management.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has denied that Rush and Feinberg had “a adjacent narration of immoderate kind.”

In a erstwhile connection to Beritaja, Parnell said Feinberg “never supported Mr. Rush’s profession astatine immoderate constituent successful his life, nor did he endorse Mr. Rush for immoderate profession position.”

Rush is accused of making mendacious claims about his acquisition and his work successful the military, according to tribunal documents.

In authorities occupation applications, Rush falsely claimed that he graduated from Clemson University successful 2000, that he had a postgraduate grade from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and that he was a Navy pilot, according to tribunal documents revenge by prosecutors. None of that was true, according to the tribunal documents.

Rush was arrested aft an FBI ambush connected his location connected May 18 recovered 303 golden bars worthy about $40 million, $2 cardinal successful rate and 35 luxury watches, according to a authorities affidavit.

Rush, who joined the CIA about 2009, is alleged to person made his first petition for rate and golden bars from the authorities successful November 2025, the affidavit says.

The existent head of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, was sworn successful connected Jan. 23, 2025.