Ex-CIA official found with $40 million in gold bars in plea deal talks

Washington — The Justice Department has reached a tentative plea deal with a former CIA official who was found with more than $40 million worth of gold bars in his home in May, according to a court filing Friday.

Prosecutors and a lawyer for the former CIA official asked a federal district court in Virginia to extend the deadline to file an indictment until Oct. 8, saying "a pre-indictment resolution promotes the public interest by conserving government and judicial resources."

"The parties have made significant progress and have a plea agreement in principle that would resolve the matter prior to an indictment," they wrote, adding that "based on the evidence obtained in the case thus far, the parties assess that proceeding to an indictment and trial would require significant litigation on any classified material."

The court filing did not indicate what charges the former official, David Rush, could plead to.

A criminal complaint from May charged Rush with one count of stealing public money for timesheet fraud.

In the criminal complaint, the FBI said it found 303 gold bars, $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches, many of which were Rolex watches, while executing a search warrant at Rush's Virginia home in May.

The FBI also alleged Rush had provided false information about his education and military service on his government application and fraudulently took military leave after his service ended. The complaint alleges that Rush claimed 744 hours of military leave on his official timesheet, totaling about $77,000 in compensation, after he was honorably discharged in 2015 from the Navy.

According to the FBI, Rush allegedly made several requests to the government for large amounts of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses, which he received. The complaint added that Rush's employer was unable to identify "the intended use of these funds."

In June, a federal judge ordered Rush to remain in custody pending trial, determining that he posed a severe flight risk.