While the public, media and White House were unaware of what was happening for several days while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized last month, the investigation found that there was no malicious intent and that his personnel It was said to be restricted in various ways. A 30-day review of communications breakdowns released on Monday.
An internal investigation into the transfer of authority during Austin’s hospitalization revealed that Austin’s hospitalization was kept secret due in part to medical privacy concerns and a rapidly fluid situation, according to the brief. It has been revealed that.
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on January 1 due to an infection related to bladder issues stemming from prostate cancer surgery in December. The Pentagon has been heavily criticized for waiting to inform the White House, Congress and the public about the incident.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized in January, but his hospitalization was kept secret for several days. (Reuters/Violeta Santos Moura)
Despite the delays, President Biden has supported Austin.
While Mr. Austin was hospitalized, on January 2, the day after his admission, he transferred his entourage to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who was vacationing in Puerto Rico. But neither she nor the White House knew he had been hospitalized until two days later. Congress and the public were not informed until January 5th.
A three-page summary of the findings said there were no “indications of malicious intent or attempts to obfuscate.” However, Austin’s staff said he was “significantly” limited in three ways.
“Medical privacy laws prohibited health care providers from openly sharing medical information with the Secretary’s staff.Second, for privacy reasons, the Secretary’s staff could not pry into the information they learned. “They were hesitant to share it,” the summary says. “Third, the Secretary’s medical situation remained in flux and timely and secure communication could not be guaranteed as long as he remained in the critical care unit.”
A new report from the Washington Post has warned the Biden administration that Democratic voters are becoming more hawkish on immigration, which will pose a challenge for its 2024 reelection bid. (Photographer: Jacqueline Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
After returning to work, Austin took responsibility for the miscommunication and said he was responsible for his decision not to disclose his health condition.
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“We didn’t take care of this right, and I didn’t take care of this right,” he said at a press conference at the time. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have told my team and the American people. I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and the American people.”
