Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, accused the Pentagon of “shocking legal violations” of not disclosing to the president, the National Security Council, and Congress the years-long hospitalization of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. denounced. And he demanded an explanation from the government “immediately”.
“We are pleased to hear that Secretary Austin's condition has improved and we wish him a speedy recovery. However, the fact remains that the Department of Defense deliberately withheld the Secretary of Defense's medical condition for several days. That is unacceptable. We are learning more every hour about the department's shocking violations of law,” Wicker said in a statement Saturday.
“If one of this country's two national military authorities is unable to accomplish its mission, military families, members of Congress, and the American people have a right to know the full extent of the situation,” he added. “Members must be immediately briefed with a full explanation of the facts.”
Austin was hospitalized on January 1st due to complications following an “elective medical procedure,” but reportedly did not tell National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan until Thursday, January 4th. I didn't tell you. Sullivan then reportedly told President Joe Biden.
The Pentagon then released a statement to the press on Friday night, January 5, confirming that Austin had been hospitalized. The initial statement did not say what the elective surgery was or what the complications were, nor did it acknowledge that Austin was still hospitalized as of that date.
File/U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Warsaw, Poland, March 18, 2022 (Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The statement also said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was prepared to take on any duties for Austin, although it is clear that she has already accepted some duties and was on vacation in Puerto Rico while Austin was hospitalized. I didn't.
Wicker said the failure to disclose Austin's hospitalization status “further eroded confidence” in the Biden administration, which also said it would not inform the public “in a timely manner” about the Chinese reconnaissance balloons and withdrawal from Afghanistan. I pointed out that I couldn't do it.
“Unfortunately, we now have more questions than answers,” Wicker said.
“Why was the notification process under 5 USC 3349 not followed, and who made the decision not to do so? What role did the Secretary of Defense’s staff play? Exactly was the President notified? When? What was the department's justification for withholding information from the National Security Council? To what extent was the secretary incapacitated by the surgery?'' he asked.
“The very fact that we do not have any of this information is an indictment of an administration that has consistently shown contempt for Congress's authority on national defense matters.”
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