USA01 September, 20263 min read
David Rush Works Toward Plea Deal After 303 Gold Bars Worth $40 Million Found
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
303 gold bars valued at more than $40 million found at David Rush's Virginia home He reached a preliminary plea agreement with prosecutors on theft/fraud charges
6 outlets told this the same way.
Plea deal sought
A former CIA officer, David Rush, is working to finalize a plea deal with federal prosecutors after investigators found 303 gold bars worth $40 million at his home, and the parties asked a judge to extend the deadline for a formal indictment.
NBC News reported that the Justice Department and Rush have a “plea agreement in principle,” and Assistant U.S. Attorney Raizza Ty and Rush’s attorney Jessica Carmichael wrote in a joint filing that “The parties need additional time to prepare the paperwork.”
The filing seeks a 21-day extension through Oct. 8, after Judge Leonie Brinkema had previously said there would be no extension past her deadline of Sept. 17.
Al-Jazeera Net said the joint memorandum filed Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Rush’s attorney did not disclose details of the tentative agreement, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined comment and Rush’s attorney did not respond immediately.
The case against Rush has been presented as involving theft by manipulating payroll data and fraudulently inflating his salary, with prosecutors and defense seeking to avoid a public trial involving classified materials.
Charges and evidence
NBC News said Rush had only formally been charged with one count of theft of public funds, accused of falsifying pay records, and that the case had not yet been presented to a federal grand jury. Al-Jazeera Net reported that authorities charged Rush in May with theft of public funds, accusing him of falsely claiming to have taken 744 hours of military leave on time-sheets after his honorable discharge from the Navy in 2015, and of inflating his salary by falsely claiming degrees from Clemson University in South Carolina and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Both outlets tied the seized assets to the investigation, with NBC News saying federal agents seized about 300 gold bars at Rush’s home, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches.
Al-Jazeera Net added that the affidavit stated the gold bars were obtained from the U.S. government to cover “work-related expenses,” while Rush’s attorney said the charge does not relate to the gold bars and described the details as “sensationalized media allegations.” NBC News also said the lawyers in the case are under a protective order that bars them from sharing sensitive information, and it reported that the FBI reviewed video showing Rush and Steve Feinberg at a residence in the Washington region linked to the federal government.
Classified trial risk
The dispute over whether the case should proceed publicly is tied to classified information, with Al-Jazeera Net saying both sides said a trial could involve complex disputes over information and materials classified under secrecy.
NBC News reported that the parties are asking a judge to extend the deadline to be indicted, and it described the effort as a way to keep the case “shrouded in mystery,” while the working plea agreement details are not yet available.
The Times of India said the joint court filing asked for a three-week extension until 8 October to complete the paperwork and an agreed statement of facts, and it framed resolving the case before an indictment as avoiding long and costly legal proceedings involving classified national security information.
The Times of India also reported that FBI Special Agent Matthew T. Johnson’s affidavit described 303 individual one-kilogram gold bars, about $2 million in foreign currency, and 35 luxury watches, including several Rolex models, and said investigators concluded the agency could not find any legitimate operational reason for the funds requested.
In the same motion described by NBC News and Al-Jazeera Net, Assistant U.S. Attorney Raizza Ty and Jessica Carmichael argued that a pre-indictment resolution would conserve government and judicial resources, while the case remains pending as Rush prepares for final plea paperwork.