A newly released internal Pentagon review into the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s January hospitalization for complications from cancer surgery has essentially absolved anyone in the department from wrongdoing.
The 30-day review did not find “any indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate,” according to a three-page unclassified summary released Monday. Rather, the review found that Austin’s aides “were hesitant to pry or share any information that they did learn” about Austin’s health because of concerns about his privacy, the summary said.
The initial secrecy about the early January hospitalization caused a political firestorm on Capitol Hill, with several Republicans and at least one House Democrat calling for Austin’s resignation, and an election year political headache for the White House, which ordered new notification procedures for when Cabinet secretaries can’t perform their duties after the Austin episode.
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“The secretary’s staff focused on ensuring continuity of the mission following standing processes,” the summary said. “Their efforts, while respecting the secretary’s privacy, combined with the uncertainty of a medical situation and its bearing on how best to execute a [transfer of authority] in the absence of an established methodology for making such an unplanned decision,…
