Is Anybody Buying Sec. Def. Lloyd Austin's Excuse For Not Telling Biden About His Absence?

Recently Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin returned to the Pentagon after what was a mystery absence at the beginning of the year and reportedly the White House was not informed: On Jan. 1, he was taken by ambulance to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after experiencing extreme pain and was admitted to the intensive care unit. He stayed there for two weeks but didn't inform the White House or his deputy that he had cancer, had surgery or had been taken back to the hospital and put in intensive care until days later. He told President Joe Biden and other key leaders about his diagnosis only after he'd been in the hospital more than a week. Austin's lack of disclosure has prompted changes in federal guidelines and has triggered an internal Pentagon review and an inspector general review into his department's notification procedures. Both reviews are ongoing.

Today, Austin had a press conference and tried to explain why he wasn't reprimanded or relieved of duty: Reporter: "Anyone else within the military chain of command would've faced reprimand or even dismissal. Why shouldn't that same standard apply to you?" - Austin: "Thanks for the question." -- Also, why didn't Austin inform Biden and the White House? His answer is laughable: Defense Sec. Austin admits that it was a "mistake" not to inform Pres. Biden of his cancer diagnosis earlier, says he didn't want to add more to what the president already has "on his plate." - "I should have done that differently." -- Keep in mind all this was going on while Houthi terrorists were attacking U.S. personnel overseas and Biden was on vacation in St. Croix, where apparently there was so much on his plate that Austin didn't think he needed to know.

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https://twitchy.com/dougp/2024/02/01/is-anybody-buying-secdef-lloyd-austins-excuse-for-not-telling-biden-about-his-absence-n2392446