On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” CNN National Security Analyst and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper argued that the outcry over Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin being hospitalized in secret is “making a mountain out of a molehill” because “it’s not as though he was spirited away to some undisclosed location” and the commander of Walter Reed and the Secretary’s protective detail knew where he was, and if something really severe had happened, “the lines of communication would have lit up pretty vigorously.” Clapper also stated that Austin is introverted.
Clapper said that if the same thing happened when he was in government, “I wouldn’t be comfortable with it, but…I think this is a real good opportunity for everybody to take a deep breath. I don’t think — I think we’re making a mountain out of a molehill here. And I think there was a confluence of a couple of events that worked against the Secretary: One, the absence of Kath[leen] Hicks, who’s the Deputy Secretary, who was away on vacation in Puerto Rico, although linked in communications-wise. And, I think importantly, his chief of staff was ill and out of the office. So, I spent 13 years in the Pentagon, a lot of time there, and sometimes, what appear to be simple bureaucratic processes don’t work like they should. I think Secretary Austin is known [as] someone who really treasures his privacy. He was always that way, he was that way on active duty. He’s somewhat of an introvert, avoids the limelight, avoids publicity wherever he can. And it’s not as though he was spirited away to some undisclosed location. He was at Walter Reed, the premier military medical facility. The commander at Walter Reed certainly knew he was there. His protective detail, Secretary Austin’s protective detail, certainly knew where he was. So, I think there’s clearly a serious lapse in reporting and the reporting responsibilities that I’m sure the Pentagon is going to police up.”
He added that Austin’s hospitalization should have been reported, but it’s not Austin’s job to do so, it’s his staff’s job, “So, it was a kind of a comedy of errors here which I’m sure will be straightened up. And…fortunately, there was no extremis situation that really would have been a serious thing. I think had there been an extremis situation, that the lines of communication would have lit up pretty vigorously.”
Clapper further stated that people in senior jobs like this do give up their right to privacy.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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