ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A high-ranking CIA officer arrested after federal agents found approximately 600 pounds of gold bullion hidden in his home also revealed details about a secret U.S. intelligence source to a foreign official, prosecutors said Tuesday during his plea hearing. David Rush, 49, admitted to one count of wire fraud under a deal with federal prosecutors and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 28. Justice Department officials said Rush diverted $194 million in government funds, using his position at the CIA to create an elaborate scheme designed to facilitate his “maximum self-enrichment at the expense of the United States.” In a plea document, Rush admitted that in late 2025 he revealed “certain descriptive information from a clandestine U.S. government human source.” that could “endanger the safety and lives of the human source and US government officials working with the source,” as well as jeopardize the “United States’ ability to recruit human sources, which depend on the US government’s guarantee of absolute secrecy.” Rush’s attorneys declined to comment. During a search of his home, investigators seized about 300 gold bars, federal officials said, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency. Department of Justice Rush has been in prison since his arrest on May 19, after investigators said he fabricated details about his education and military service history, fooling the country’s top spy agency for years. As a top official in the CIA’s Science and Technology Directorate, Rush had access to the country’s most secret programs and used it to his advantage, prosecutors said. Rush worked as a liaison to the Pentagon for sensitive military programs and collaborated closely with the Defense Department’s powerful second-in-command, Steve Feinberg, people familiar with the work told NBC News. The case has caused a wave of shock and anxiety among lawmakers and within the island spy agency. How could someone have fooled the highest levels of government for decades and how could he have passed what is considered a rigorous vetting process to join the CIA? The intelligence community watchdog is investigating separately, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the investigation. More on the David Rush case As of Tuesday, Rush, who was placed on leave sometime before his arrest and later fired, had only been indicted on one count of theft of public funds, accused of falsifying his salary records. His court case was postponed for weeks while his lawyers and the government worked to reach a possible plea deal. U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff approved the plea deal Tuesday. Rush acted alone, using his fabricated good faith to build trust in his work, court documents say. No other CIA officials, government employees or contractors were charged with any crimes in the case. According to court documents, his deceptions “caused contractors and subcontractors to carry out the transactions.” Rush fabricated a highly classified program to funnel tens of millions of dollars toward his personal purchase of luxury real estate in Florida and invented a sensitive government “activity” to acquire the gold bars. “Rush effectively acted as his own approval official, allowing him to spend substantial amounts of US government money without significant scrutiny,” according to court documents. David Rush pleads guilty to one count of wire fraud in the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday. Dana Verkouteren During a search of his home, investigators seized about 300 gold bars, federal officials said, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches. Initially, investigators said it was 303 bars, but on Tuesday they revised that figure to 298 bars. The gold was for what Rush claimed was an official work purpose, and had said they were distributed: the spy agency uses all sorts of unusual methods in its work. Rush, according to federal prosecutors, also concocted a classified special access program and told associates he needed luxury real estate in South Florida for it. He had $145 million transferred to a holding company for four properties and luxury vehicles. He lied to his associates, telling them that senior government officials knew of the need for the property and approved the transaction. Rush also spent $1.8 million of government money on private charter flights, but a CIA review later found that he had “no legitimate official requirement” for these flights, prosecutors said. The interstate wire fraud occurred in January, when Rush had a government employee wire $45 million for his scheme, prosecutors said. The case has also put a spotlight on Rush’s relationship with Feinberg, as NBC News reported. The FBI reviewed video showing Rush and Feinberg at a residence in the Washington region that is linked to the federal government, according to four people familiar with the video. Feinberg has been interviewed by the FBI, according to two people familiar with the investigation, but he has not been charged with any crime and the bureau said he is not under investigation. There is no indication that Feinberg knew about Rush’s alleged lies. A Pentagon spokesman has said that Feinberg and Rush were not close. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement Tuesday that the agency “immediately” referred the case to the FBI after an internal investigation identified potential crimes, and said Rush “abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions.” FBI Director Kash Patel said Rush “betrayed his oath, his co-workers, and the American people” when he “defrauded the government of hundreds of millions of dollars and then misused those funds for extravagant purchases.”
