Washington
CNN
—
The secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalizations in late 2023 and early 2024 “unnecessarily increased” risks to U.S. national security, the Pentagon’s inspector general concluded in a report released Wednesday.
The nearly year-long review — which the IG said examined more than 56 million records, including classified text messages and emails, and included interviews with 44 witnesses — focused over three periods in late 2023 and 2024, when Austin was hospitalized for procedures. linked to a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Austin’s hospitalizations were kept secret from the White House and top national security officials for days, raising huge questions about transparency, communication and processes surrounding proper notifications and transfer of authorities.
Speaking Wednesday about the report, a senior defense official said Austin acknowledged he had “made a mistake, apologized and committed to improving transparency and processes at the ‘future “.
“There was no scandal, there was no cover-up and, in fact, the report found that at no time was the secretary incapacitated in the performance of his duties” , said the official. “The report also found that at no time was there a breakdown in command and control, and at no time were there any gaps in authority or operational impacts. »
For two of Austin’s medical procedures on January 6 and 8, 2024, Austin was “moderately sedated,” told he may need to be under anesthesia, and advised not to engage in activities requiring intact mental abilities for at least 24 hours.
But Austin “did not transfer his authorities” during that period, the study said, nor did he inform Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks or his chief of staff of the proceedings.
For a separate procedure a few weeks later, Austin was in “serious condition,” according to the review, but did not transfer his powers to Hicks until “several hours” after he was hospitalized.
Storch and his office also found that Austin did not notify the White House and other required entities quickly enough that he would transfer his powers to Hicks in December 2023 and January 2024.
“The ability of DoD and the government to operate seamlessly and continuity of leadership under all circumstances is fundamental to our national security,” Storch said in a statement. “While we have not seen any negative consequences to DoD operations arising from the manner in which the hospitalizations we reviewed were handled, the risks to our national defense, including the command and control of critical security operations DoD National Defense Force, have been unnecessarily increased.”
Austin admitted at a news conference last year that he had made mistakes in how he handled his hospitalizations, attributing his desire for secrecy to simply being a very private person and not wanting to impose one’s state on others.
“I want to be very clear: We did not handle this properly. And I didn’t handle that well. I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have told my team and the American public as well, and I take full responsibility for that,” Austin said at the time. “I apologize to my teammates and the American people.”
Austin’s desire for privacy was so great, the IG found, that he requested that the ambulance that picked him up from his home on Jan. 1 not use lights or sirens. He also specifically told a junior staff member that “if anyone had any questions, they were more than welcome to ask me directly,” which the IG said was unlikely to prompt any real questions about his condition.
Even Austin’s chief of staff at the time, Kelly Magsamen, expressed frustration that she hadn’t had more information about his condition and that he had “gone totally dark on his team.”
“I wish (Secretary Austin) was a normal person, but he’s (Secretary of Defense),” Magsamen wrote to one of Austin’s aides, according to texts obtained by the IG. “We have a great institutional responsibility. He can’t go completely dark with his staff. …Please let him know that we can’t keep his hospitalization a secret forever. It’s a big deal for him to be in the (SICU). And I’m worried sick.
Magsamen also texted Austin’s aides saying the White House National Security Council “keeps asking me where” Austin is, later adding that the White House was “pissed off” about the situation.
“I know this is a balance between his privacy, his recovery, and national security, but it is soon reaching the breaking point,” Magsamen wrote, according to the report.
The IG made 20 recommendations to improve processes in the future, including expanding the number of people involved in decision-making in similar situations and improving the flow of information within DoD and between agencies. The Pentagon has accepted all 20 recommendations, a senior defense official said Wednesday.
CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed to this report.