A judge ordered the detention of an ex-CIA official found with gold bars worth about $40 million in his home last month.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said in a detention hearing Friday that David Rush must remain in custody pending trial, determining that he poses a severe flight risk. Fitzpatrick said Rush has the means and motive to flee law enforcement and evade detection.
In May, as FBI investigators were looking into whether Rush had lied about his educational and military background, they searched his home and discovered 303 gold bars, $2 million in cash and more than 30 luxury watches. The government’s lawyers alleged he was diversifying funds into commodities that could be traded. They claimed there is “strong evidence” Rush was trying to hide the funds.
During the open part of the hearing, which followed an hourlong sealed hearing, government lawyers called Rush a “master manipulator” who lied to his neighbors about being a pilot, lied to his co-workers and leveraged his “access to seniority.” A Justice Department lawyer said Rush “cannot be trusted” and is “fully willing and able to skirt the rules.”
Rush is currently being held in solitary confinement.
So far, Rush, who attended the Alexandria, Virginia, hearing Friday, only faces one charge alleging about $70,000 in fraudulent timesheets.
Prosecutors said large sums of funds remain unaccounted for, but Rush’s defense attorney, Jessica Carmichael, said all the gold bars have been recovered and are a “non-issue.” She said that when the FBI searched his home, Rush told the FBI about the gold bars and gave them the codes to access them in his basement.
The government contended Rush should not have had the gold bars in his home. The funds that are not yet accounted for may have been a reference to foreign currency, but Rush’s lawyer said the government has not provided any information about how the foreign currency was intended to be used or what steps it has taken to find it. An FBI affidavit alleges that around November 2025 to March 2026, Rush made several requests to obtain a significant amount of foreign currency.
Carmichael said it’s “not the defense’s burden to find foreign currency that’s unaccounted for.” She argued that the government is bringing “sensational” allegations.
“Mr. Rush never claimed the gold bars to be his,” she said in court.
Carmichael said that while some of Rush’s defense claims may “sound bizarre and secretive,” the nature of his job “can be bizarre and secretive.” She contended that Rush could have been held at home with an ankle monitor, rather than remaining in custody.
Rush’s attorney characterized the Justice Department’s allegations as being “like Whack-a-Mole” but said she’s playing with “a blindfold on.” Carmichael also said that during the sealed portion of the hearing, she learned about new evidence. She told the court she had asked prosecutors about discovery and did not receive a response.
FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche briefed Gang of 8 lawmakers on the case earlier this week, sources said.
contributed to this report.
