Former CIA officer who had 303 gold bars in his home ordered detained
A CIA officer accused of stealing money from the government by lying about his academic credentials and military experience who authorities said had 303 gold bars worth roughly $40 million stashed in his house was described by a Justice Department prosecutor as a "master manipulator" who "cannot be trusted."
David Rush was ordered detained pending trial on Friday by a federal judge in Virginia, and prosecutors detailed a damning track record of alleged lies that the government said only grows by the day as the FBI and intelligence community continue their investigation.
Flanked by two U.S. Marshals and seated next to his defense attorney Jessica Carmichael, Rush did not react as prosecutor Gavin Tisdale detailed new evidence that he argued warranted Rush's continued detention and showed he posed a unique risk of flight.
Rush was charged with theft of public money.
According to Tisdale, Rush had falsely claimed he was a doctor to some, lied to his neighbors about being a pilot, and had recently been putting funds away into commodities that were easily tradable, such as the Rolex watches seized from his home. Many of the assets he is believed to have access to still remain unaccounted for, Tisdale added.
Rush also had recent instances of undisclosed travel that further bolstered the government's argument he could not be trusted to return for further legal proceedings in his case, Tisdale added, though he did not provide further details.
"Mr. Rush is in a world of trouble," Tisdale said, adding the government's investigation shows he engaged in a regular "manipulation of classification" and "skirting of the rules" even as he only currently faces a single charge for timecard fraud.
The public hearing followed immediately after a sealed conference where the government had provided further information to magistrate judge William Fitzpatrick that it said it could not publicly disclose.
Carmichael accused the government of leveraging "sensational allegations" against her client and ignoring that all of the gold bars found in his home were accounted for and had been requested and approved by the CIA.
She argued Rush wouldn't flee because he had been aware he was under investigation for a period of three weeks leading to his arrest, and that when the FBI came to search his home, he showed them where the gold bars were stored in his basement.
Carmichael said while some of the conduct he is accused of sounds "bizarre and secretive," that's because the nature of his job was "bizarre and secretive" on its own.
Ultimately, Fitzpatrick said the weight of the government's evidence had shown Rush did pose a risk of flight and he has "not only the means but the motive" and is in a "different position than most to flee and evade detection by law enforcement."
The affidavit alleges that Rush lied about his military credentials while applying to enter the senior executive service level ranks and committed "timecard fraud" regarding military leave. He allegedly claimed 744 hours of military leave, resulting in $77,000 in compensation, since being honorably discharged from the Navy in 2015, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit describes him as a "former Senior Executive Service level employee at a United States Government agency" with top secret-level clearance. He was still a CIA officer at the time of his arrest by the FBI on May 19, according to his attorney and prosecutors.
"After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation," CIA and FBI spokespersons said in a prior statement on the case.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
