Does the Central Intelligence Agency Require Much Intelligence?
The true story of the CIA man with 668 pounds of gold in his house makes "Burn After Reading" sound like "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."
Can the Coen Bros. please reunite for one more movie?
I recently read John Le Carre’s famously intricate novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy about high-IQ malfeasance within MI6. But the new scandal in which Senior Executive Service-level (i.e., above GS-15) CIA manager David J. Rush was caught with $40 million in gold stashed at home makes it sound like the CIA is in real life run by Chad Feldheimer and his colleagues at the Hardbodies gym:
From the Washington Post news section:
CIA officer who had millions in gold bars accused of creating fake spy program
… June 5, 2026 at 7:54 p.m. EDT
By Warren P. Strobel, Ellen Nakashima and Katie Mettler
The former senior CIA official found with more than $40 million worth of gold bars in his house allegedly created a fake, highly classified intelligence program that he used as a conduit to funnel millions of dollars for his personal use, according to people familiar with the criminal investigation. …
… The science and technology directorate is the arm of the agency that creates technical espionage tools to aid U.S. spies and their agents abroad.
The account of those familiar with the criminal probe appears to raise serious questions about secrecy guardrails and vetting at the CIA.
It remains unclear, for example, how Rush could single-handedly create a “black box” for a fictional spy program without sign-off from his superiors. It is also unclear whether the two colleagues Rush brought into the fake program knew it was fraudulent.
One of the people familiar with the probe said Rush’s fake program involved “continuity of government” operations, or programs to keep the U.S. federal government running in the event of nuclear war, natural disasters or other catastrophes.
Rush apparently used the fake government continuity program and the contract to persuade a government defense contractor to purchase large amounts of gold, this person said.
Did Rush explain in his paperwork that after the Apocalypse, the only currency the Warriors of the Wasteland would take to fight for the President is cold gold?
Even more astounding, according to former U.S. officials and others familiar with the issue, is that Rush’s duties at the CIA included involvement in one of the government’s most sensitive intelligence-gathering programs, a project so secret that only a handful of U.S. intelligence officials and lawmakers knew of its existence, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Well, that’s fun to speculate about: What does this tippy-top secret program do?
Paywall here.
