CIA put senior officials on leave over officer arrested with gold bars - BERITAJA

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 the most highly-sensitive programs successful the U.S. authorities and had $40 cardinal successful golden bars stashed astatine his home, according to 3 group acquainted pinch the decisions.

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

The elder CIA officials were placed connected time off complete the 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 the agency, the group acquainted pinch the decisions said. They did not cognize the circumstantial number of CIA officials who were placed connected time off aliases when.

A spokesperson for the CIA declined to comment.

Rush’s lawyer had nary comment.

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

On Wednesday, officials from the CIA and different national departments briefed lawmakers connected Rush’s case, according to 2 group acquainted pinch the 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 the Navy reserves. Court papers besides opportunity that he had requested and received from the CIA a ample magnitude of overseas rate and golden bars for “work-related expenses” — overmuch of which the agency past couldn’t find erstwhile conducting a review.

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

A CIA worker for about 17 years, Rush about precocious served arsenic a liaison to the Defense Department for a delicate atomic submarine program, Beritaja has reported. He was fixed that duty astatine the petition of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Steve Feinberg, pinch whom Rush had a adjacent master narration complete the years, Beritaja has reported citing 4 group acquainted pinch their relationship. Feinberg founded the 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 Beritaja, 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 the law” by Rush and the rumor was past referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigations.