THE CIA’S INSANE GOLD BARS SCANDAL. Here is the basic story, as alleged in an affidavit filed in federal court:In 2009, a man named David Rush, a Navy veteran, took a job at the CIA. As part of the application process, he told the CIA that he had a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Clemson University, when in fact he had never attended or obtained a degree from Clemson University. Rush also told the CIA he had a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, when in fact he had never attended or obtained a degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Rush also told the CIA he had been a Navy test pilot, when in fact he had served in the Navy but was never a pilot of any sort.CIA officials apparently never caught any of these falsehoods when they hired Rush. On Nov. 20, 2009, when, as a new employee, he submitted an application to obtain the highest possible security clearance, Top Secret/Secure Compartmented Information, Rush again claimed to have degrees from Clemson and Rensselaer. He received the clearance.
Rush moved up the ranks of the CIA. In 2018, he applied to enter the Senior Executive Service, which would place him at the top level — and among the highest paid — of agency workers. In that application, Rush “stated he was a graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, and he was the current Director of Test for a 145-person, 18-aircraft joint Army/Navy weapons test organization,” according to the affidavit. The affidavit continued: “In this same application, Rush stated he had an eleven-year tenure as a Thesis/Dissertation advisor at the Air Force Institute of Technology.” None of that was true. Nevertheless, the CIA promoted Rush.
