Federal prosecutors reached a tentative plea agreement Friday with former CIA officer David J. Rush, who was arrested in May after authorities discovered more than $40 million in gold bars at his Virginia home.

In a joint court filing in the Eastern District of Virginia, government lawyers and Rush's defense team said the parties have made significant progress toward a plea agreement in principle that would resolve the matter prior to an indictment. The filing sought a three-week extension of the September 17 deadline for filing an indictment, citing the public interest and challenges posed by classified material in any potential trial.

Rush, a former senior executive in the CIA's science and technology division, was arrested on May 19 following an FBI search of his Ashburn home. Agents seized 303 gold bars weighing approximately one kilogram each, along with roughly $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolexes. The gold's estimated value exceeded $40 million.

Investigators determined that Rush had created a fictitious classified program to request the gold bars and foreign currency as purported work-related expenses between November 2025 and March 2026. The CIA later could not locate the assets or verify any legitimate use for them.

Rush initially faced only one criminal count of stealing public money. Prosecutors alleged he submitted fraudulent timesheets claiming about $77,000 in military leave pay after his 2015 honorable discharge from the Navy. Court documents also accused him of misrepresenting his educational background, including falsely claiming a master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on multiple job applications.

The case highlighted vulnerabilities in the intelligence community's vetting processes and handling of classified programs. Rush had worked on highly sensitive projects, including collaborations with the Pentagon on maritime and nuclear submarine programs.

No details on the specific terms of the proposed plea agreement were released in the filing. Rush remains in federal custody pending further proceedings.