Cia Put Senior Officials On Leave Over Officer Arrested With Gold Bars

WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency put respective elder officials connected administrative time off complete their handling of a high-ranking serviceman who worked connected 1 of nan most highly-sensitive programs successful nan U.S. authorities and had $40 cardinal successful golden bars stashed astatine his home, according to 3 group acquainted pinch nan decisions.

David Rush, nan elder CIA serviceman who was arrested connected May 19 successful Virginia and is accused of lying astir his activity acquisition and education, is scheduled to look successful tribunal connected Friday.

The elder CIA officials were placed connected time off complete nan guidance of Rush’s requests for money aliases first soul flags that his requests whitethorn not person been morganatic arsenic portion of his activity for nan agency, nan group acquainted pinch nan decisions said. They did not cognize nan circumstantial number of CIA officials who were placed connected time off aliases when.

A spokesperson for nan CIA declined to comment.

Rush’s lawyer had nary comment.

The fallout complete Rush’s apprehension has only grown pursuing NBC News’ reporting past week revealing caller specifications astir nan case, which has rattled lawmakers who are questioning really an agency that handles nan nation’s astir delicate secrets allowed a man accused of lying astir his bona fides into nan CIA’s precocious ranks.

On Wednesday, officials from nan CIA and different national departments briefed lawmakers connected Rush’s case, according to 2 group acquainted pinch nan briefing.

Rush has yet to plead to charges outlined successful tribunal documents that he revenge fraudulent timesheets by falsely claiming he was a personnel of nan Navy reserves. Court papers besides opportunity that he had requested and received from nan CIA a ample magnitude of overseas rate and golden bars for “work-related expenses” — overmuch of which nan agency past couldn’t find erstwhile conducting a review.

When FBI agents searched Rush’s location past month, they recovered astir 303 golden bars, $2 cardinal successful rate and much than 30 luxury watches, according to nan tribunal affidavit.

A CIA worker for astir 17 years, Rush astir precocious served arsenic a liaison to nan Defense Department for a delicate atomic submarine program, NBC News has reported. He was fixed that duty astatine nan petition of nan Deputy Secretary of Defense, Steve Feinberg, pinch whom Rush had a adjacent master narration complete nan years, NBC News has reported citing 4 group acquainted pinch their relationship. Feinberg founded nan backstage equity patient Cerberus Capital Management.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell has said it is “completely false” that Rush and Feinberg had “a adjacent narration of immoderate kind.” In a erstwhile connection to NBC News, Parnell said, “Deputy Secretary Feinberg ne'er supported Mr. Rush’s profession astatine immoderate constituent successful his life, nor did he endorse Mr. Rush for immoderate profession position.” Feinberg has not been accused of wrongdoing.

A CIA spokesperson has said an soul CIA investigation had “identified imaginable violations of nan law” by Rush and nan rumor was past referred to nan Federal Bureau of Investigations.