CIA officer arrested with gold bars pleads guilty to wire fraud

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — A high-ranking CIA officer arrested after federal agents said they found roughly 600 pounds of gold bars stashed in his home wrongly disclosed details about a secret intelligence asset to a foreign official, prosecutors said Tuesday during his plea hearing. David Rush admitted to one count of wire fraud under an agreement with federal prosecutors. He’s been in jail since his arrest on May 19. Federal agents alleged he had made up details about his education and military service record, fooling the nation’s top spy agency for years. In a plea document, Rush admitted 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.”Rush’s lawyers declined to comment.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. They were 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. The case prompted a wave of shock and anxiety among lawmakers and within the insular spy agency. How could someone may have fooled the highest levels of government for decades, and how might he have gotten past 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. Rush had access to the nation’s most secret programs in his job at the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology. He worked as a liaison to the Pentagon for sensitive military programs and worked closely with the Defense Department’s powerful second in command, Steve Feinberg, people familiar with the work have told NBC News. Rush was also accused of making up a top secret program for his own personal use, sources have told NBC News. Until Tuesday, the now-ex-officer had only formally been charged with one count of theft of public funds, accused of falsifying pay records. He had not yet been arraigned in the case and has been held behind bars since his arrest on concerns he’d flee the country. He was placed on leave sometime before his arrest and eventually fired from the CIA. Rush’s defense team and prosecutors had recently asked for more time from the government to work on a possible agreement. Rush’s agreement means that none of the more serious questions about his alleged fabrications or his work with the Defense Department will likely become public. There’s a protective order in place that bars lawyers on the case from publicly releasing sensitive information about it even after it was completed, in part because of the volume of classified information involved. U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff approved the plea deal. His sentencing was set for Jan. 28. Federal agents seized about 300 gold bars at Rush’s home, federal officials alleged, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches.GettyThe 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.