{"id":2187224,"date":"2024-02-26T20:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T01:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lloyd-austins-undisclosed-hospitalization-pentagon-releases-investigation\/"},"modified":"2024-02-26T20:29:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T01:29:11","slug":"lloyd-austins-undisclosed-hospitalization-pentagon-releases-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lloyd-austins-undisclosed-hospitalization-pentagon-releases-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon reveals probe on Lloyd Austin&#8217;s undisclosed hospital stay"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flloyd-austins-undisclosed-hospitalization-pentagon-releases-investigation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2187224&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd\u200d Austin speaks during a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting at the Pentagon on \u2063November 22, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>OAN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/tag\/elizabeth-volberding\">Elizabeth Volberding<br \/><\/a>5:10 PM \u2013 Monday, February 26, \u20622024<\/h2>\n<p>An internal review has\u2064 blamed privacy limitations \u2064and staff skepticism for the\u200d Pentagon\u2019s\u200c failure\u2064 to quickly inform the president and other leaders about Defense Secretary Lloyd \u200cAustin\u2019s hospitalization. <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>According to an internal review released by the \u200bPentagon on\u200b Monday,\u2063 privacy\u2064 restrictions and staff reluctance are to blame for the failure to alert United \u200bStates\u200c President Joe Biden and additional officials regarding\u200b Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin\u2019s prostate cancer and subsequent hospitalization for\u200b surgical complications. <\/p>\n<p>According to an\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2024\/Feb\/26\/2003400135\/-1\/-1\/1\/UNCLASSIFIED-SUMMARY-OF-30-DAY-REVIEW.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unclassified\u200c summary of the \u200dreview<\/a>, medical privacy regulations restricted the information that medical professionals could share with Austin\u2019s staff, limiting the amount of information that they could \u200bshare.<\/p>\n<p>Jennifer Walsh, the Pentagon\u2019s director of administration \u2062and management, performed \u2063the evaluation. \u2064However, it made no mention of staff \u2062members\u200b receiving sanctions or reprimands. <\/p>\n<p>Austin\u2019s staff, who \u200cconducted the review, essentially cleared Austin of any\u2063 misconduct regarding the secrecy surrounding his hospitalization, which included multiple days spent in \u200bthe \u200cintensive care unit.\u00a0According to Austin\u2019s prior statements, he did \u200btell his staff members\u200c to conceal information \u200dconcerning his health. <\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the review states flatly that \u201cno indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate\u201d existed.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThere was no \u200dfinding of ill-intent or an \u2064attempt \u200dto obfuscate,\u201d Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon\u2019s top\u200b spokesman, stated on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The\u200c 30-day review of the\u2063 lapse, which infuriated the White\u2064 House\u2063 and a number of congress members\u200c who made their grievances known, concluded that when Austin is\u200d forced to give decision-making responsibilities to the deputy, protocols must be strengthened and information should be communicated better.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote data-service=\"twitter\" data-category=\"marketing\" data-placeholder-image=\"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/complianz-gdpr\/assets\/images\/placeholders\/twitter-minimal.jpg\" class=\"cmplz-placeholder-element twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pentagon Press\u2062 Sec. \u2063Maj.\u2064 Gen. Pat \u2064Ryder: There was no &#8220;ill\u200b intent&#8221; by\u200d Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin when he kept his incapacitation from the public, and senior officials, for\u2064 days <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/e28hZfxDu0\">pic.twitter.com\/e28hZfxDu0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 RNC Research (@RNCResearch)\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RNCResearch\/status\/1762207537074512081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-service=\"twitter\" data-category=\"marketing\" async data-cmplz-src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>On Thursday, Austin is\u2064 scheduled to\u2063 appear before the \u2064House on\u200d Capitol Hill, where \u200bhe is likely \u200bto \u2064face harsh criticism. \u200dThe inspector general\u2062 of the Defense Department is also performing a \u2063review, which has not yet been \u200bfinished.<\/p>\n<p>Austin \u2062underwent surgery on December 22<sup>nd<\/sup>, 2023, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after receiving a prostate \u200bcancer diagnosis in \u2063early December. He was reportedly in severe \u2062pain when he was\u2062 brought back to\u2062 Walter Reed by ambulance on January 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 2024, and he \u200cwas transferred to the intensive care unit the\u2062 following day.<\/p>\n<p>As a result,\u2063 Austin transferred \u200chis decision-making authorities to Deputy Secretary \u200bKathleen Hicks during his first surgery and\u2062 again when he was in intensive care. \u200dHowever, according to reports, he did\u2063 not explain to her or the White House administration what the reason was for \u200chis departure.<\/p>\n<p>Officials from the Pentagon recognized that while they were informed on January \u20622<sup>nd<\/sup> \u200cthat Austin had been admitted to the\u200c hospital, public relations and defense aides\u2064 chose not to disclose the information to the\u2062 public or the National Security Council \u200buntil January 4<sup>th<\/sup>. \u2063It took four additional days after that for the explanation for hospitalization to be revealed.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, a set of proposed\u2062 modifications\u200c and an\u2063 unclassified summary of the review were shared by defense officials. According to the\u2064 investigation, there was\u200b no standard procedure \u200dfor\u200c dealing with the situation, and the fact that his hospital\u200d stay\u200c was \u201cunplanned\u201d purportedly added to \u2062the reason why \u201cno one \u2063was informed about it.\u201d\u2064 <\/p>\n<p>In addition, the summary stated that Austin\u2019s\u2064 staff was restricted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-spreads-likely-bogus-media-story-about-pregnant-10-year-old-in-making-case-for-abortion\/\" title=\"Biden Spreads Likely-Bogus Media Story About Pregnant 10-Year-Old in Making Case for Abortion\">medical privacy laws<\/a>\u2064 that \u2063limited doctors from sharing information \u200cand they \u201cwere hesitant to pry\u200d or share\u2062 any information they did learn.\u201d\u200d It continued, explaining \u2064that \u200bthey were unable to guarantee \u201ctimely secured communications\u201d since Austin\u2019s health was \u200d\u201cin flux.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>On February 8<sup>th<\/sup>, \u2062the \u200c30-day \u2062review\u200c was completed and submitted to Austin. However, only sections of it were publicly shared. The Pentagon has asserted \u2063that parts of the report are still confidential.<\/p>\n<p>After he returned to \u2064work, Austin admitted \u200bthat he should\u200c have handled the situation differently and apologized\u2062 for keeping Biden and others in the \u2064dark, but he assured\u2064 the \u200cpublic \u2063that he never instructed his staff to keep his surgery and hospitalization a \u200bsecret from the White \u200cHouse. <\/p>\n<p>In addition, \u2064Austin denied that his office had a\u2062 culture of secrecy \u2062and added that \u200cstaff\u200c members might have\u200c thought that \u201cthey\u2019re doing things in my best\u200b interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Strengthened protocols for \u2062the\u200d transfer of authority\u200d and stronger reporting requirements during those particular situations are included in the proposed\u2062 changes.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the White\u200b House \u2064released\u2062 new protocols in response to the concealment of Austin\u2019s hospitalizations, making sure\u2063 that it will be notified whenever a \u2062Cabinet head transfers \u2064decision-making authority when they are unavailable \u200bfor any reason.<\/p>\n<p>Stay\u200d informed! Receive breaking news \u200dblasts directly to your inbox for free.\u200b Subscribe here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts\">https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"rc-widget-10bad2\" data-rc-widget data-widget-host=\"habitat\" data-endpoint=\"\/\/trends.revcontent.com\" data-widget-id=\"278641\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\tShare this \u200dpost!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The latest \u2064research \u200binto\u2063 the COVID-19 vaccines reveals the injections\u2062 are responsible for\u2064 a\u2064 shocking amount of injuries and\u2063 deaths, with researchers saying they do far more harm than\u200c good.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>San\u200c Francisco takes a bold step, and for \u2064the first time in American history, \u200bappoints a noncitizen to an advisory board\u2063 overseeing the\u200b city\u2019s\u2063 elections. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Right\u200d now, Illegal immigration is\u200b at \u2062the forefront of voters\u2019 minds and it\u2019s the focus of one candidate\u200c vying\u2062 for\u2062 Utah\u2019s senate seat.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>As we get closer to the November election, many are wondering who President Donald Trump will pick as his \u200bvice president.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Microsoft announced principles\u200b to foster\u200c innovation and competition as a market leader in\u2064 AI.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Google plans to\u200d relaunch in the\u2063 next \u200dfew weeks \u200bits AI tool that creates images of people.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Nvidia galloped to $2 trillion market value after \u200cthe bellwether for AI chip demand \u200conce again\u00a0exceeded\u00a0Wall Street\u2019s \u2064sky-high\u200d expectations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Apple is rolling out an upgrade to its\u2063 iMessage texting platform to\u2064 defend against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leavitt-nikki-haley-actively-aiding-joe-biden-by-refusing-to-drop-from-race\/\" title=\"Leavitt: Haley Supports Biden by Staying in the Race\">future \u200dencryption-breaking technologies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> rnrn  <\/p>\n<h2> \u2062What were the privacy limitations\u200b that prevented\u200b the timely notification of Defense Secretary Austin&#8217;s hospitalization?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Internal Review Blames Privacy Limitations and Staff Skepticism for Pentagon&#8217;s Delayed\u2063 Notification\u2063 of Defense Secretary&#8217;s Hospitalization<\/p>\n<p>An internal review conducted by the\u200d Pentagon has revealed that privacy restrictions and staff reluctance were responsible for the delayed notification of Defense Secretary Lloyd\u2064 Austin&#8217;s\u2062 hospitalization. The review, released on Monday, concluded\u200b that medical \u2063privacy regulations limited the information that medical professionals could share with Austin&#8217;s\u200b staff.<\/p>\n<p>According to an unclassified summary of the review, it was found\u200c that Austin&#8217;s staff had cleared him of any misconduct regarding the secrecy surrounding his hospitalization. The review also stated that\u200d there \u2062was &#8220;no indication of ill intent or an attempt to\u2063 obfuscate&#8221; \u200don Austin&#8217;s part.<\/p>\n<p>Air Force Maj.\u200b Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon&#8217;s top spokesman,\u200d reaffirmed this finding, stating that there was no ill intent on Austin&#8217;s part when he kept his incapacitation from the public and \u200dsenior officials.<\/p>\n<p>The 30-day \u2064review, which left \u2062the 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\u2064 decision-making responsibilities to the deputy.<\/p>\n<p>Austin underwent surgery on December 22, \u20632023, at Walter Reed National \u2064Military Medical Center after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was reportedly in severe pain when\u2062 he was brought back to the hospital by ambulance on January 1, 2024, and \u2063he was transferred to the intensive\u2063 care unit the following day.<\/p>\n<p>During his hospitalization, Austin transferred his decision-making authorities to Deputy Secretary Kathleen \u2063Hicks, but reportedly did \u200bnot explain the reason for\u200d his departure to her or the White House administration.<\/p>\n<p>It took four days for the public and the National Security Council to be informed about Austin&#8217;s hospitalization, and the explanation for the hospitalization was not revealed until\u2064 four days\u200b after that.<\/p>\n<p>The review highlighted the absence of standard\u200c procedure for dealing\u200c with such situations \u2064and \u200dcited the \u2062&#8221;unplanned&#8221; nature of Austin&#8217;s\u2063 hospital stay \u200das a contributing factor for the failure to inform relevant parties.<\/p>\n<p>Medical privacy laws also \u2064restricted\u200d Austin&#8217;s staff from sharing information, and they were hesitant to pry or share \u200dany information they did \u2063learn, according to the review. The review stated that they were unable to ensure timely and secure communication due to Austin&#8217;s fluctuating health.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u200dJoe\u200c Biden and others in the dark. However, he denied\u200c instructing his staff \u200cto keep his surgery and hospitalization a secret from the White House.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed changes include strengthened protocols \u200bfor the transfer of authority and stronger reporting requirements in similar situations. In response to the concealment\u200b of Austin&#8217;s \u2064hospitalizations,\u200d the White House has released new protocols to ensure that it will be notified whenever a\u200d Cabinet head transfers decision-making authority due to unavailability.<\/p>\n<p>It is expected that Austin will face harsh criticism \u2064during his\u200c appearance before the House on \u200bCapitol Hill, and the Defense Department Inspector General is conducting a separate review which has not yet been completed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addresses a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. An internal review points to privacy constraints and staff doubt as reasons for the Pentagon&#8217;s recent shortcomings. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images) OAN&#8217;s Elizabeth Volberding, 5:10 PM, Monday, February 26, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2368,"featured_media":2187225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1807744710-scaled-e1708991390241.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2187224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1807744710-scaled-e1708991390241.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2187224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2187225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2187224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2187224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2187224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}