The New Development: Rush Wasn't Working in Isolation

When the FBI searched David Rush's Virginia home, agents recovered 303 gold bars, $40 million, $2 million in cash, and 35 Rolex watches.

Now investigators have uncovered another dimension: Rush appears to have had contact with Stephen A. Feinberg — the current No. 2 official at the Pentagon — during President Trump's first term. Some officials told the New York Times the two men were not close. Still, the mere fact that a man allegedly running a $40 million theft scheme had any contact with the Deputy Secretary of Defense raises questions that demand answers.

The Pentagon has not commented. Feinberg has not commented.

He Was No Junior Analyst

NBC News, citing former intelligence officials and congressional sources, reports that Rush "was no low-level agent." He had reached senior executive status inside the CIA — the kind of rank that comes with real authority, real access, and real trust.

The CIA handed this man top-secret clearance. They promoted him. They gave him enough institutional trust that he was able to request — and apparently receive — "a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses," according to the FBI affidavit cited by CNN.

Someone in the chain of command approved it.

17 Years. Three Applications. All Based on Lies.

According to the FBI, Rush applied to the government three separate times. Each application contained false information. He claimed to be a Navy pilot. He was not. He claimed to have advanced degrees. He did not.

He was hired in 2009 and promoted over the next decade. He worked there for 17 years.

After his honorable discharge in 2015, he allegedly claimed 744 hours of fraudulent military leave on his timesheets — collecting roughly $77,000 he was not entitled to. Court documents do not explain why the CIA failed to catch this during the initial background check, let alone before promoting him to a senior executive role. The agency's vetting process — which exists specifically to catch exactly this kind of fraud — apparently missed all of it.

Congress Is Alarmed

NBC News reports that members of Congress have been alarmed by this case. Former intelligence officials described the situation as having "bewildered" them.

Questions have emerged about who signed off on Rush's gold bar request. That approval came from someone in the CIA's chain of command. That person — or those people — should be identified publicly.

What the Coverage Is Missing

Most reporting treats this primarily as a criminal case. It is that. But it is also a catastrophic institutional failure that reaches into both the CIA and potentially the Pentagon.

The Feinberg connection remains vaguely reported — "some officials said they were not close" glosses over a detail that oversight committees should be examining closely.

Few outlets are asking: What exactly was Rush doing during Trump's first term that put him in contact with someone now serving as No. 2 at the Pentagon? What operations was he running? What access did he have?

The remaining stolen funds — beyond what was recovered in the home search — have still NOT been located, according to CNN. A significant portion of $40 million in government money remains missing.

What This Means

The CIA failed basic background vetting on a man who lied repeatedly, promoted him anyway, gave him top-secret clearance, and then handed him tens of millions in gold bars.

Congress should hold open hearings on CIA vetting failures. The public deserves to know how a serial liar reached senior executive rank inside the nation's premier intelligence agency. And whether anyone who approved his gold bar request still works for the federal government.