CIA put senior officials on leave over officer arrested with gold bars

WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency put several senior officials on administrative leave over their handling of a high-ranking officer who worked on one of the most highly-sensitive programs in the U.S. government and had $40 million in gold bars stashed at his home, according to three people familiar with the decisions.

David Rush, the senior CIA officer who was arrested on May 19 in Virginia and is accused of lying about his work experience and education, is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

The senior CIA officials were placed on leave over the management of Rush’s requests for money or initial internal flags that his requests may not have been legitimate as part of his work for the agency, the people familiar with the decisions said. They did not know the specific number of CIA officials who were placed on leave or when.

A spokesperson for the CIA declined to comment.

Rush’s attorney had no comment.

The fallout over Rush’s arrest has only grown following NBC News’ reporting last week revealing new details about the case, which has rattled lawmakers who are questioning how an agency that handles the nation’s most sensitive secrets allowed a man accused of lying about his bona fides into the CIA’s upper ranks.

On Wednesday, officials from the CIA and other federal departments briefed lawmakers on Rush’s case, according to two people familiar with the briefing.

Rush has yet to plead to charges outlined in court documents that he filed fraudulent timesheets by falsely claiming he was a member of the Navy reserves. Court papers also say that he had requested and received from the CIA a large amount of foreign currency and gold bars for “work-related expenses” — much of which the agency then couldn’t find when conducting a review.

When FBI agents searched Rush’s home last month, they found about 303 gold bars, $2 million in cash and more than 30 luxury watches, according to the court affidavit.

A CIA employee for about 17 years, Rush most recently served as a liaison to the Defense Department for a sensitive nuclear submarine program, NBC News has reported. He was given that assignment at the request of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Steve Feinberg, with whom Rush had a close professional relationship over the years, NBC News has reported citing four people familiar with their relationship. Feinberg founded the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell has said it is “completely false” that Rush and Feinberg had “a close relationship of any kind.” In a previous statement to NBC News, Parnell said, “Deputy Secretary Feinberg never supported Mr. Rush’s career at any point in his life, nor did he endorse Mr. Rush for any career position.” Feinberg has not been accused of wrongdoing.

A CIA spokesperson has said an internal CIA investigation had “identified potential violations of the law” by Rush and the issue was then referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigations.