SecDef Lloyd Austin Update: Inspector General to Investigate Mishandling of Absence; First Democrat Calls for Resignation
Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch announced on Wednesday he is opening an investigation into the mishandling of the secret absence of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, 70, while he was operated on for prostate cancer in December and then hospitalized with complications in January.
WASHINGTON (Jan. 23, 2021) Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III poses for his official portrait in the Army portrait studio at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Jan 23, 2020.(U.S. Army photo by Spc. XaViera Masline)
Austin’s chief of staff Kelly Magsamen had previously ordered an in-house investigation of the mishandling of Austin’s absence. Magsamen has been blamed in press reports for failing to notify the White House, Congress and senior DoD staff of Austin’s illness and absence because she was ill with the flu.
