Pentagon reveals probe on Lloyd Austin’s undisclosed hospital stay
OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
5:10 PM – Monday, February 26, 2024
An internal review has blamed privacy limitations and staff skepticism for the Pentagon’s failure to quickly inform the president and other leaders about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization.
According to an internal review released by the Pentagon on Monday, privacy restrictions and staff reluctance are to blame for the failure to alert United States President Joe Biden and additional officials regarding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s prostate cancer and subsequent hospitalization for surgical complications.
According to an unclassified summary of the review, medical privacy regulations restricted the information that medical professionals could share with Austin’s staff, limiting the amount of information that they could share.
Jennifer Walsh, the Pentagon’s director of administration and management, performed the evaluation. However, it made no mention of staff members receiving sanctions or reprimands.
Austin’s staff, who conducted the review, essentially cleared Austin of any misconduct regarding the secrecy surrounding his hospitalization, which included multiple days spent in the intensive care unit. According to Austin’s prior statements, he did tell his staff members to conceal information concerning his health.
Furthermore, the review states flatly that “no indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate” existed.
“There was no finding of ill-intent or an attempt to obfuscate,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, stated on Monday.
The 30-day review of the lapse, which infuriated the White House and a number of congress members who made their grievances known, concluded that when Austin is forced to give decision-making responsibilities to the deputy, protocols must be strengthened and information should be communicated better.
On Thursday, Austin is scheduled to appear before the House on Capitol Hill, where he is likely to face harsh criticism. The inspector general of the Defense Department is also performing a review, which has not yet been finished.
Austin underwent surgery on December 22nd, 2023, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis in early December. He was reportedly in severe pain when he was brought back to Walter Reed by ambulance on January 1st, 2024, and he was transferred to the intensive care unit the following day.
As a result, Austin transferred his decision-making authorities to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks during his first surgery and again when he was in intensive care. However, according to reports, he did not explain to her or the White House administration what the reason was for his departure.
Officials from the Pentagon recognized that while they were informed on January 2nd that Austin had been admitted to the hospital, public relations and defense aides chose not to disclose the information to the public or the National Security Council until January 4th. It took four additional days after that for the explanation for hospitalization to be revealed.
On Monday, a set of proposed modifications and an unclassified summary of the review were shared by defense officials. According to the investigation, there was no standard procedure for dealing with the situation, and the fact that his hospital stay was “unplanned” purportedly added to the reason why “no one was informed about it.”
In addition, the summary stated that Austin’s staff was restricted by medical privacy laws that limited doctors from sharing information and they “were hesitant to pry or share any information they did learn.” It continued, explaining that they were unable to guarantee “timely secured communications” since Austin’s health was “in flux.”
On February 8th, the 30-day review was completed and submitted to Austin. However, only sections of it were publicly shared. The Pentagon has asserted that parts of the report are still confidential.
After he returned to work, Austin admitted that he should have handled the situation differently and apologized for keeping Biden and others in the dark, but he assured the public that he never instructed his staff to keep his surgery and hospitalization a secret from the White House.
In addition, Austin denied that his office had a culture of secrecy and added that staff members might have thought that “they’re doing things in my best interest.”
Strengthened protocols for the transfer of authority and stronger reporting requirements during those particular situations are included in the proposed changes.
As a result, the White House released new protocols in response to the concealment of Austin’s hospitalizations, making sure that it will be notified whenever a Cabinet head transfers decision-making authority when they are unavailable for any reason.
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What were the privacy limitations that prevented the timely notification of Defense Secretary Austin’s hospitalization?
Internal Review Blames Privacy Limitations and Staff Skepticism for Pentagon’s Delayed Notification of Defense Secretary’s Hospitalization
An internal review conducted by the Pentagon has revealed that privacy restrictions and staff reluctance were responsible for the delayed notification of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization. The review, released on Monday, concluded that medical privacy regulations limited the information that medical professionals could share with Austin’s staff.
According to an unclassified summary of the review, it was found that Austin’s staff had cleared him of any misconduct regarding the secrecy surrounding his hospitalization. The review also stated that there was “no indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate” on Austin’s part.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, reaffirmed this finding, stating that there was no ill intent on Austin’s part when he kept his incapacitation from the public and senior officials.
The 30-day review, which left the White House and members of Congress infuriated, recommended that protocols should be strengthened and information should be communicated better when Austin is forced to delegate decision-making responsibilities to the deputy.
Austin underwent surgery on December 22, 2023, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was reportedly in severe pain when he was brought back to the hospital by ambulance on January 1, 2024, and he was transferred to the intensive care unit the following day.
During his hospitalization, Austin transferred his decision-making authorities to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, but reportedly did not explain the reason for his departure to her or the White House administration.
It took four days for the public and the National Security Council to be informed about Austin’s hospitalization, and the explanation for the hospitalization was not revealed until four days after that.
The review highlighted the absence of standard procedure for dealing with such situations and cited the ”unplanned” nature of Austin’s hospital stay as a contributing factor for the failure to inform relevant parties.
Medical privacy laws also restricted Austin’s staff from sharing information, and they were hesitant to pry or share any information they did learn, according to the review. The review stated that they were unable to ensure timely and secure communication due to Austin’s fluctuating health.
While the 30-day review has been completed, parts of the report remain confidential. Austin admitted that he should have handled the situation differently and apologized for keeping President Joe Biden and others in the dark. However, he denied instructing his staff to keep his surgery and hospitalization a secret from the White House.
The proposed changes include strengthened protocols for the transfer of authority and stronger reporting requirements in similar situations. In response to the concealment of Austin’s hospitalizations, the White House has released new protocols to ensure that it will be notified whenever a Cabinet head transfers decision-making authority due to unavailability.
It is expected that Austin will face harsh criticism during his appearance before the House on Capitol Hill, and the Defense Department Inspector General is conducting a separate review which has not yet been completed.
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