(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The ex-CIA official who was arrested last month after being found with some $40 million in gold bars reportedly siphoned that loot from the government by creating a fake spy program.
The ex-officer, David Rush, fabricated a “special access program” (SAP), which the Washington Post described as a “black box” for the nation’s most secret intelligence operations. Rush’s phony program reportedly had to do with “continuity of government”—how to keep the government running during a nuclear attack or other major disaster.
“Even intelligence personnel with the highest security clearance cannot access an individual SAP, as they are known, without specific authorization,” the Post reported Friday, citing anonymous sources.
According to the Post, Rush “read in,” or initiated, two colleagues into the highly secretive sham program.
“He persuaded one of them to transfer millions of dollars to the program via a government contract that was also fraudulent,” the Post said.
Further details about Rush’s fake spy program are still not public.
“It remains unclear, for example, how Rush could single-handedly create a ‘black box’ for a fictional spy program without sign-off from his superiors. It is also unclear whether the two colleagues Rush brought into the fake program knew it was fraudulent,” the Post said.
Rush, who faces one count of stealing public funds, was ordered to remain in custody on Friday after a detention hearing. Part of the hearing was held in secret due to the top-secret information being discussed.
Rush was first put under federal investigation due to him allegedly lying on his job resume—he allegedly obtained $77,000 in military leave by falsely claiming to be in the Navy, even though he was discharged in 2015.
As the FBI’s investigation into Rush progressed, agents found that he allegedly made several requests to the government to obtain a “significant quantity” of foreign currency, as well as tens of millions of dollars in gold bars, for “work-related expenses” from last November to March.
“During the search, FBI agents seized approximately 303 gold bars, each of which weighs approximately one kilogram,” court records say. “Based on the current price of gold, the estimated value of the gold exceeds $40 million.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
