CIA officer arrested with gold bars admits he exposed secret intelligence source to a foreign official

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — A high-ranking CIA officer arrested after federal agents found roughly 600 pounds of gold bars stashed in his home also disclosed 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 an agreement with federal prosecutors and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 28. Justice Department officials said Rush siphoned off $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 disclosed “certain descriptive information of a U.S. government clandestine human source” that could “endanger the safety and life of the human source and the U.S. government officers working with the source,” as well as jeopardize America’s “ability to recruit human sources, who rely on the U.S. government’s assurance of absolute secrecy.” Lawyers for Rush declined to comment. Rush has been in jail since his arrest May 19, after investigators said he made up details about his education and military service record, fooling the nation’s top spy agency for years. As a top officer at the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, Rush had access to the nation’s most secret programs -- and he used that to his benefit, 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 have told NBC News. The case has prompted a wave of shock and anxiety among lawmakers and within the insular spy agency. How could someone have fooled the highest levels of government for decades, and how could he have gotten through what is considered a rigorous vetting process to join the CIA? The intelligence community’s watchdog is separately investigating, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the probe. Until Tuesday, Rush — who was placed on leave sometime before his arrest and then fired — had only formally been charged with one count of theft of public funds, accused of falsifying his pay records. His court case was postponed for weeks as his lawyers and the government worked toward a possible plea agreement. U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff approved the plea deal Tuesday. Rush acted alone, using his manufactured bona fides to create confidence in his work, court documents say. No other CIA officials, government employees or contractors were accused of 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 millions of dollars for 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 approving official, enabling him to expend substantial amounts of United States government money without meaningful scrutiny,” according to court documents. During their 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 revised that figure to 298 bars. The gold was for what Rush claimed was an official work purpose, and he had said that they were distributed out -- the spy agency uses all sorts of unusual methods in its work. Rush, according to federal prosecutors, also fabricated 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 luxury properties and vehicles. He lied to associates, telling them that highly-placed government officials knew about the need for the real estate and approved the transaction. Rush also spent $1.8 million of the government’s money for private charter flights, but a CIA review later found he had “no legitimate official requirement” for these flights, prosecutors said. The interstate wire fraud occurred in January — when Rush caused a government employee to send $45 million for his scheme, prosecutors said. The case also has cast 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 has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and the bureau said he is not under investigation. There’s no indication that Feinberg knew of Rush’s alleged fabrications. A Pentagon spokesman has said Feinberg and Rush were not close. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement Tuesday that the agency “immediately” referred to 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.”