Former CIA officer nears plea deal in gold bars case

A former CIA officer found with 303 gold bars worth more than $40 million at his Virginia home is nearing a plea deal with federal prosecutors, a move that could resolve the case before an indictment and limit public litigation over classified material.

David Rush and the Justice Department have reached a “plea agreement in principle,” prosecutors and Rush’s attorney said in a joint court filing Friday. They asked a federal district court in Virginia to extend the deadline for filing an indictment until Oct. 8 while they prepare paperwork, including an agreed statement of facts.

“The parties have made significant progress and have a plea agreement in principle that would resolve the matter prior to an indictment,” they wrote. “A pre-indictment resolution promotes the public interest by conserving government and judicial resources.”

The filing added that, “based on the evidence obtained in the case thus far,” proceeding to indictment and trial “would require significant litigation on any classified material.” Details of the tentative agreement were not disclosed, and the filing did not say what charge or charges Rush might plead to.

Rush has been formally charged only with one count of theft of public funds in a criminal complaint, not an indictment. The charge centers on alleged timesheet fraud. Prosecutors accused him of claiming 744 hours of military leave on his official timesheet after he had been honorably discharged from the Navy in 2015, receiving about $77,000 in compensation.

The FBI said in the May criminal complaint that agents executing a search warrant at Rush’s home found 303 gold bars, about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches. CBS News reported that many of the watches were Rolexes.

Investigators also alleged that Rush gave false information about his education and military service on his government application. According to the FBI, Rush made several requests to the government for large amounts of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses, and received them. The complaint said his employer could not identify “the intended use of these funds.”

NBC News reported that Rush held a high-ranking job at the CIA and worked on some of the government’s most secret programs. The outlet also reported that the CIA placed senior officials on leave after his arrest and that Rush allegedly lied to his employer about his background for nearly two decades.

The case has drawn attention to Rush’s relationship with Steve Feinberg, the No. 2 official at the Defense Department, NBC News reported. The FBI reviewed video showing Rush and Feinberg at a residence in the Washington region linked to the federal government, according to four people familiar with the video cited by NBC News. Feinberg has been interviewed by the FBI, according to two people familiar with the investigation, but he has not been accused of wrongdoing, and the FBI said he is not under investigation.

In June, a federal judge ordered Rush to remain in custody pending trial, finding that he posed a severe flight risk.

The request for more time seeks a 21-day extension from a Sept. 17 deadline previously set by Judge Leonie Brinkema, who had said there would be no extension past that date. Rush’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the outlets. Lawyers in the case are under a protective order barring them from sharing sensitive information.