WASHINGTON — The case of a senior CIA officer accused of lying about his bona fides and making off with $40 million of the government’s money in gold bars has bewildered former intelligence officials and alarmed members of Congress.
David Rush, 49, worked for the CIA for roughly 17 years, held a senior rank and was a part of the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, according to two people with knowledge of his employment. For decades, the directorate has pursued highly secret projects using new technology to gain an edge in intelligence gathering, including developing satellites and spy planes and even retrieving a sunken Soviet submarine from the Pacific Ocean floor.
Rush had a close professional relationship over the years with Steve Feinberg, the deputy defense secretary and billionaire who founded Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm, according to four people familiar with the relationship. Feinberg, who has long had an interest in the intelligence community and served as chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board during Donald Trump’s first term, helped support Rush’s career over the years, the people said.
A Pentagon spokesperson for Feinberg had no comment.
If the accusations prove true, Rush’s exposure to deep government secrets and high-ranking administration officials raises questions about how he could have slipped through the cracks of an agency entrusted with the country’s most sensitive secrets.
