David Rush, a former CIA officer who held a senior executive-level management position with top secret SCI clearance. He worked for the agency for 17 years.
Rush was arrested on May 19, following an internal CIA investigation that identified potential violations of law. CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the case to the FBI.
An FBI search of his Virginia home on May 18 turned up roughly 303 one-kilogram gold bars worth over $40 million, $2 million in U.S. currency, and dozens of luxury watches, many of them Rolex.
From November 2025 to March 2026, Rush requested and received a "significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars" from the U.S. government, claiming they were needed for work-related expenses. When the CIA investigated, it was unable to locate the gold bars or any record of how Rush had used them.
The most puzzling aspect is how a senior CIA official could request and receive tens of millions in gold bars with no documented justification, and how the agency only caught on after he made repeated, escalating requests. It raises serious questions about internal oversight at one of the country's most secretive agencies.
Rush was charged with one count of stealing public money and is currently being held in jail. A detention hearing is scheduled for June 5 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Rush is accused of getting hired and promoted at the CIA by lying repeatedly on applications — falsely claiming to be a Navy pilot and to hold advanced degrees. Court documents note that his false claims were easily dispelled by investigators, raising questions about why the CIA failed to detect them before hiring and promoting him over nearly two decades.
Specifically: Rush claimed to be a Navy Reserve captain and Air Force test pilot, fraudulently collecting $77,000 in military leave pay for 744 hours of paid time off but he had actually been honorably discharged a decade earlier in 2015 as a lieutenant, three ranks lower.
Court documents also allege he falsely claimed to have earned degrees from Clemson University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on government job and clearance applications.
Rush was charged with one count of stealing public money and is currently being held in jail. A detention hearing is scheduled for June 5 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Rush is accused of getting hired and promoted at the CIA by lying repeatedly on applications — falsely claiming to be a Navy pilot and to hold advanced degrees. Court documents note that his false claims were easily dispelled by investigators, raising questions about why the CIA failed to detect them before hiring and promoting him over nearly two decades.
Specifically: Rush claimed to be a Navy Reserve captain and Air Force test pilot, fraudulently collecting $77,000 in military leave pay for 744 hours of paid time off but he had actually been honorably discharged a decade earlier in 2015 as a lieutenant, three ranks lower.
Court documents also allege he falsely claimed to have earned degrees from Clemson University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on government job and clearance applications.
