Before arrest with 303 gold bars, CIA officer spun tale he was Top Gun fighter pilot

EXCLUSIVENational SecurityNational SecurityBefore arrest with 303 gold bars, CIA officer spun tale he was Top Gun fighter pilotDavid Rush’s former firefighter colleagues looked up to him as an ace pilot. Now they wonder whether he was making it all up “like Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Catch Me If You Can.’”Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Former CIA Officer David Rush in court Friday.Dana VerkouterernShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 10, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Rich SchapiroMore than 15 years ago, the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department in Northern Virginia welcomed a new recruit whom many members would come to admire: a military man named David Rush. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.He wasn’t just highly intelligent. He was also capable, calm under pressure and a physical specimen, according to interviews with a half-dozen former Ashburn volunteer firefighters.“The David Rush I remember, he was chiseled,” said Jeff Bellmer, a retired lieutenant at the department. “Big back, skinny waist, fit.”David Rush during his time at the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.Obtained by NBC NewsDespite his intellectual and physical gifts, Rush didn’t act like a big shot, his former fire department colleagues said. He was reserved and humble. But when he did get to talking about his military career, the stories he told were just amazing — how he had graduated first in his class at Top Gun, the legendary Navy fighter pilot school, and flown F-14 Tomcat fighter jets over Iraq and Afghanistan. “Rush told me he had ejected and bailed out of two F-14s, and the third one he landed over there at Andrews with the cockpit on fire,” Bellmer said.“He was just such a neat guy for me at the time,” Bellmer added. “The first real naval aviator that I had come across.”Rush made a similar impression on Lloyd Harting, another former Ashburn volunteer firefighter.“He told me he was a former fighter pilot, an...