Austin says he never told anyone on his staff to keep White House in the dark on hospitalization
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he never directed anyone on his staff not to tell the White House he’d been hospitalized and he takes full responsibility for keeping President Joe Biden in the dark for weeks that he had prostate cancer. Austin is speaking to reporters in the Pentagon briefing room on Thursday, providing his most extensive comments to date on the secrecy surrounding his cancer diagnosis and struggles with complications since his surgery on Dec. 22. It is the first time he is answering reporters’ questions since being rushed back to the hospital on Jan. 1.
