gregory chestnut, walter reed national military medical center. beginning.f secretary austin's routinely recommended health screening, he has undergone regular prostate-specific psa surveillance. changes in laborator december 2 identified prostate cancer which required treatment. on december 22, 2023, after consultation with his medical team, he was admitted to walter reed national military medical center and underwent minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat and cure prostate cancer. he was under general anesthesia during this procedure. secretary austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. his prostate cancer was detected early and prognosis is excellent. on january 1, 2024, secretary austin was admitted to walter reed national medical center with complications from the december 22nd procedure, including nausea, severe abdominal hip and leg pain. urinary tract infection. january 2nd, decision made to transfer to icu for close monitoring and higher level of care. further evaluation revealed abdominal fluid collec

so this is quite a lengthy statement we just got from walter reed medical center. you parts of it. this answers a key question that we did not know the answer until this point. why was austin in the hospital to begin with? so i will read part of this here. there was positive identification of prostate cancer earlier in the month. he went in on december 22nd, just a few weeks ago, for a minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat and cure prostate cancer. he was under general anesthesia during that procedure and was then released the following morning. so this is december 23rd. he recovered uneventfully from his her jewelry and returned home the next morning according to the statement. the cancer itself was detected early, and his prognosis is good. one week later or so, on january 1st, the hospital says he was experiencing nausea with severe abdominal, hip and leg pain. the initial evaluation revealed he had a urinary tract infection. on january 2nd, the decision was made to transfer him to the icu for close monitoring and a higher level of care. further evaluat

at the guard shack at walter reed they can't ask you who are you going to see?ou where are you going? and so there was no lying involved in the whole thing. and we worked the outside and the inside. some of the wise are really mad their husbands were in a hotel on the walter reed based for two years. lost.paperwork was it was a horrible situation for the medical care is okay, it was pretty good such as these guys were hanging around two years lost in limbo. so yes, spend the night hotel rooms because most of them have very bad ptsd. the usually wake up in the morning often with a start or violently. i was with this guy who was an older guard member and was from south carolina. he had bad ptsd and his wife was living in a hotel birth him at walter reed.m she told him she would never go wake him up in the morning with her hands she would throw a shoe at him because you just did not know what would happen. i could have written that but i really need to see that. that's how we uncover that story but we had to see everything with her own eyes which is what you hope f

2007 for her amazing stories on the mistreatment of veterans of the iraq and afghanistan wars at walter reed army medical center where she basically embedded herself in the rooms with the soldiers and documented how they were being so shabbily treated, but you know, she was also-- that story was wonderful, but she wrote probably 10 or 12 other stories or series equally great, many of which were finalists for the pulitzer prize, so that one story sort of gave here the honor that she had deserved so many times before that and whenever anne would walk through the post news room, younger writers would circle around her because she just had such an aura of great writing to her. and part of it is her ability to sort of insinuate herself into the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. nobody can quite capture that with the real sensibility, the humor, the pathos, everything of real life. when you read an anne holt story you say, yeah, this is it. she captures in a way that most writers can't. and this memoir does that, you know, it's a memoir of her growing up as a tom boy in the orange groves of

you know that we came started our walter reed reporting in 2007.nd that was a time the war had dragged on a lot longer than it was supposed to. you people were losing you. this was before the surge. so it was just at a point where when is this going to end? and the military was busy with the war. they really neglected walter reed and taking care of the wounded soldiers there. and so the the base would lose walter reed would lose their paperwork which sounds like a really small thing, but it's not in the system and you're pretty well screwed if lose your paper, you have to start back over, get getting a leg and the wives went to office depot and they bought printing copy machines for the rooms and they started making copies of the records. so they'd always have the records. and they were so mad that the army mistreating their husbands, it mostly, mostly wives and husbands that they're like we'll talk to you this is this is he does not deserve this kind of treatment he lost an eye he's got traumatic brain injury. so we were really helped in the timin

defense himself, in which he says that i am grateful for the first-class care that i received at walter reed and i want to praise these outstanding doctors, i will continue my recovery and will carry out my duties from at home, looking forward to a full recovery, doctors say he was discharged after his prostate cancer was successfully treated and was in the early stages of the disease. and he decides not to inform the commander-in-chief of the country of his subordinates. there has been a war in israel for 100 days, a deadlock in ukraine, a new president in taiwan who can provoke china - iran. we carried out an airstrike on an iranian agent in baghdad when lloyd austin was nowhere to be found. who gave the order? who's in charge? tell me who's in charge? this is jake sullivan, this is the vice president, who we just don't know. yes, someone just passed by, heard the phone ringing and said: yes, come on, of course, this administration is not behaving seriously, in a dangerous period of world history, we see what is happening in the middle east, in ukraine, we see china’s aggression against ta

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. >> but with all due respect to that, i mean, i don't think anyone is concerned about the level of medical care. walter reed is among the best places that someone could go, that's where president trump went after he got covid-19. but the concern that the president himself wasn't told that his defense secretary, and i understand there are people who say elective procedure, you have a right to your privacy, but when the defense secretary goes by ambulance to the hospital, and he's in the icu, do you believe that maybe the public maybe you don't believe has a right to know, but maybe the president himself, the national security adviser, do you believe they should have been told? >> no, i agree with you completely. this should have been reported. i don't think i

hospital walter reed says he underwent minimalist surgery to treat prostate cancer.en he had the operation, everything went well and he was even allowed to go home, but then he had to be hospitalized again due to an infection, but there is still no explanation as to why autumn decided to hide this from everyone, including the president, and the pentagon could not do it explain. who made the decision not to tell the president that the secretary of defense had prostate cancer? we will update you with information as it becomes available. we we learned about this this evening and are immediately telling you about it. for several days he does not know that his minister of defense is in the hospital. it was not as if the ability of our armed forces to protect our national interests was compromised. why should we believe what this administration tells us? the pentagon is first and foremost honest with itself. i see that his authority is being questioned here. one could, of course, rejoice at all this insanity. our elderly sick opponents, that's just we have one planet, you

walter reed, there was nowhere else to go and this is the conversation i've had with myself and anybody that allows -- or they're unable to di dress their depression, they start to have conversations with themselves about self-harm. and things continue to kind of tick off the list. and then i kind of hit the emergency brake to really go further along, was, like, i can't be -- i can't be a blueprint for my children. i can't let them be left alone or not to understand why he would have done that earlier in the year, two friends of mine -- one had a stroke, and the other one had a bad heart attack, and they both have young children and they took their lives. and it was very devastating, and not because they were weak or i was strong or whatever it was just i got lucky. and i knew i needed help i didn't know what that really looked like, but it was presented, and i reluctantly kind of -- oh, no, i don't need to go in there but figured out, yes, this was the right choice, and that's where i ended up >> i know this is so hard to talk about, but just to be clear about what you're saying, you'r

that was at least three full days after secretary austin had been sent to walter reed this means that the white house simply did not know in real time that the secretary of defense had undergone surgery under general anesthesia and hospitalized because of complications all while there were some very serious national security matters before the white house. now, the white house is making it pretty clear and they acknowledge that clearly there were some issues and problems with the lack of transparency here. one question that i just asked in the white house press briefing was whether now that the president does know what the medical condition is that secretary austin was being treated for, whether he believes that he should have been afforded the privacy to keep that detail private. this is what he said. >> nobody at the white house new that secretary austin had prostate cancer until this morning. the president was informed. the president believes that transparency with the american people is important. he knows being a public figure for his entire life and as a public figure, you have

happy to hear he is in good condition, still at walter reed, however, and moved out of the icu.ng peter doocy at the white house and what kind of response from them, this is likely going to be scrutinized quite some time. >> john: some question who authorized the strike on thursday if the secretary of defense was in the hospital. according to the pentagon folks, authorized before the hospitalization and the centcom commander knew. general, when you hear the circumstances of this, particularly, that the secretary of defense's chief of staff had the flu and that's why he didn't pick up the phone and notify either the white house chief of staff or the national security adviser, what do you make of that? >> yeah, john, look, this is a mess any way you want to call it. fact of the matter is, a huge mistake by everybody at the defense department and needs to be accountability. people sleep well at night here in the united states of america because they trust, they have confidence in the military leadership and the civilian control of the military leadership and this is a great example

secretary austin currently remained hospitalized at walter reed and is in good condition.uld have seen the statement released and for the sake of ensuring that everyone here today and everyone watching has the same information, i will read that full statement. this is a statement from dr. john maddux, trauma medical director and dr. gregory chestnut. beginning the statement. as part of secretary austin's routinely recommended health screening, he has undergone regular prostate antigen surveillance. changes in his laboratory evaluation in early december of 2023 identified prostate cancer which required treatment. on december 22nd, 2023, after consultation with his medical team, he was admitted to walter reed national military medical center and underwent a minimally invasive procedure to treat and cure prostate cancer. he was under general anesthesia during this procedure. he recovered uneventfully from surgery and returned home the next morning. his prostate cancer was detected early and his prognosis is excellent. on january 1st, 2024, secretary austin was admitted to wal

mysterious hospitalization at walter reed national military medical center, which went unannounced for days. well, he's now out of the icu. the pentagon just said they don't have a release date yet for him, and there are big questions tonight now that we know the white house and even his deputy secretary of defense were kept in the dark about this medical emergency. cbs's david martin has new reporting from the pentagon. >> reporter: president biden said today he has full confidence in lloyd austin, but his aides did not hide their displeasure that the commander in chief was not told his secretary of defense was in intensive care on new year's day. >> i think there's an expectation that when a cabinet official becomes hospitalized, that that will be notified up the chain of command. >> reporter: the pentagon acknowledged today the chairman of the joint chiefs, austin's chief of staff, and his spokesman all knew on january 2nd the secretary had been hospi hospitalized, but waited for two more days before telling the white house. austin had been at home recovering from an elective medica

if we need them to take him to walter reed medical, is that a possibility? >> let them know when they get there. i'm noting all this in the call. >> reporter: the 911 call adds to questions about why president biden did not find out about austin's hospitalization for three days. neither did his deputy, who had taken over austin's duties while she was on vacation in puerto rico. despite calls for austin's resignation, the president says he's not considering firing him. >> do you have confidence in secretary austin? >> i do. >> was it a lapse in judgment for him not to tell you earlier? >> yes. >> reporter: tonight the pentagon has not responded to our request for a comment about that 911 call. the inspector general, though, continues to investigate why it took austin so long to disclose his hospitalization. norah. norah. >> weijia jiang at the white -we're done. -what about these? looks right. nooo... nooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty absorbs spills like a sponge. and is 2x more absorbent so you can use less. we all know tthat words have power.r

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 protective detail certainly knew where he was. i think there is clearly a various laps and reporting, and reporting responsibilities that i'm sure the pentagon will -- >> with all due respect to, that i that i , talk to concede when they lose. he's a loser. >> now holding back, there that's ph i'm joined tonight by former republican -- adam kinzinger and former obama administration van jones. thank you both for being here >>> security adviser of congress, for that matter the public. so it was a comedy of errors which i'm sure will be straightened up, and as a pointed, out forcibly there was no extremist situation that you know, really would have been a serious thing. i think had there been an external situation, that a lines of communication would have laid up pretty vigorously. >> yes i think that was the concern we heard from lawmakers like senator

. >> walter reed, there was nowhere else to go. this is a conversation that i have had with myself or anyone unable to address their depression. they start to have dark conversations about self-harm. things continue to tick off the list. i kind of hit the emergency brake further. i can't be a blueprint for my children. i cannot let them be left alone or to not understand why he would've done that. earlier in the year two friends of mine, one had a stroke and the other had a bad heart attack. they both had young children and took their lives. it was very devastating. not because they were weaker or i was strong, i got lucky. i knew that i needed help. i didn't know what that looked like. it was presented. i reluctantly was like i don't need to go in there. i figured out this is the right choice and that is where i ended up. >> i know this is so hard to talk about. just to be clear, you are saying that you had thoughts of harming yourself? >> yeah. i've said that publicly. at first i didn't. i thought at that time if i could be of mo

this week at walter reed. sir do you think i was disappointed? no. i declared. thank you, chairman. i hugged him and said, god me in this job and he's going to move me to an even bigger job because he's got bigger missions for me to. i underwent three psychiatric evaluations month three times. diagnosed fit for duty. but the doctors were wrong. after being fired, i retired early and was later hospitalized. the book details many more intense manic episodes. what goes up must come down. and that is particularly true with disorder. so after being fired over the next four months, i spiraled, then crashed into a complete breakdown. mind, body, spirit. for mostly euphoric mania to anger bitter and paranoid delusions. then into a hopeless, crippling depression and terrifying psychosis. in november 2014, i did an emergency walk into walter reed and finally diagnosed properly with disorder type one and psychosis. 12 years after onset. and the reason i went was when you're in mania. you feel great. you don't think there's anything wrong with you and no one can tell you there is. but you're in

knew that secretary austin had prostate cancer until this morning >> reporter: a statement from walter reed saying his surgical procedure on december 22nd was to treat and cure prostate cancer. they say he was under general anesthesia, but released the next morning. but on monday, january 1st, austin was rushed back to walter reed via ambulance with severe pain, suffering from an infection and fluid buildup that was impairing his small intestine. on tuesday, january 2nd, austin was admitted to the intensive care unit, and transferred some authorities to his deputy kathleen hicks, while she was on vacation in puerto rico but hicks and the white house were not told he was in the icu until thursday, january 4th. members of congress, senior pentagon leaders, and the public were not informed until the night of friday, january 5th. >> this guy shouldn't be in charge of our military now >> well, i'm going toe continue calling for full disclosure. i'm calling for a full hearing. >> reporter: the pentagon now reviewing who knew what, when, and why the white house wasn't told. >> clearly, we could ha

on december 22, 20 23, after consultation with his medical team, he was admitted to walter reed medical center and underwent a minimally invasive surgery to treat and cure prostate cancer. he was under general anesthesia during this procedure. secretary austin recovered from his surgery and returned home the next morning. his prostate cancer was detected early in his prognosis is excellent. on january 1, 2024, secretary austin was admitted to walter reed medical center with complications from the december 22 procedure. including nausea with severe abdominal hip and leg pain. initial evaluation revealed a urinary tract infection. on january 2, the decision was made to transfer him to the icu for close monitoring and a higher level of care. further evaluation revealed abdominal fluid and peering the function of the small intestines. this resulted in the backup of his intestinal contents, which was treated by placing a tube through his nose to drain his stomach. the abdominal fluid collections were drained by nonsurgical drain placement. he has progressed steadily throughout his day. his i

item in particular, spokesperson said secretary of defense lloyd austin remains hospitalized at walter reed. apparently recovering and in good spirits. of course, we all wish him well. there has been pretty intense criticism because the secretary did not notify senior officials, including the president, senior secretary and other officials about his hospitalization. that notification came days after he went into the hospital. what's your response to all of that? i mean, should he have been notifying folks sooner? >> jim, look, there's no question that lloyd austin's done a great job as secretary of defense at a pretty trying time under a lot of crises he's dealing with and he's spent a lot of time on the road, but i think it's fair to say that he made a mistake by not acknowledging to the public and certainly to white house officials that he was hospitalized. and, frankly, he himself has acknowledged that and taken full responsibility and said he could do a better job of informing the public with regards to what happened here. look, he's a key part -- secretary of defense is a key part of t

con and the public were not notified until four days after he was admitted to walter reed.his process is going to help ensure that all relevant parties are notified when the secretary of defense is otherwise indisposed. importantly, this memo makes no mention of the fact that the pentagon did not also notify the white house of the secretary's december 22nd elective medical procedure that he underwent at walter reed, and that was a one-night hospital stay that also involved the transfer of his authorities to his deputy secretary, kathleen hicks. and so the memo asks the pentagon's general counsel as well as other senior officials to examine the events stemming from his january 1st hospitalization, makes no mention of that december 22nd stay, which of course we all have questions about why the pentagon did not also notify the white house and the president when the secretary was in the hospital overnight. guys. >> natasha, you've been doing great reporting on this, so many unanswered questions still, which is remarkable. thank you. >>> this morning investigators believe it was

. >>> and lloyd austin is still being treated at walter reed medical center.he president and his deputy did not know about lloyd's hospitalization. that is still under scrutiny this morning. >>> and congressional leaders have just taken the first steps to averting a government shutdown. we'll take a look at what's in, anand what's n not in. ststay with usus. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yup, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network. give your business a head start in 2024 with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. >>> the handling of this by the secretary of defense is totally unacceptable. i think it was a dereliction of duty, and the secretary and the administration frankly need to step forward and give the america

getting a listen to the 911 call for an ambulance to transfer lloyd austin to walter reed and medicalter. the caller is heard asking the operator for no lights or siren on the ambulance, because "we are trying to remain a little subtle." that adds more questions to what the pentagon was trying to hide about the secretary's illness. cbs's weijia jiang reports from the white house. >> 911 where's your emergency? >> reporter: tonight the 911 called returned from cbs news shows lloyd austin as the dispatcher to keep the emergency just great. >> can i ask in the ambulance not show up with the sirens, we are trying to remain a little subtle. >> yes, i understand. >> usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they will turn them off, but they are required by law on the main street. >> and then the operator talks about his condition his condition. >> did he pass out or feel like he is going to pass out? >> no. >> reporter: austen was taken to the hospital on new year's day with an infection that stem from complications after surgery to treat prostate cancer over two weeks earlier

secretary had severe pain in his leg, hip, and abdomen. >> i'm just curious, if we take him to walter reedical is that a possibility? >> let them know that when they get there. like i said, i am noting all this in the call. >> reporter: the 911 call adds to questions about why president biden did not find out about austin's hospitalization for three days. neither did his deputy who had taken over austin's duties while she was on vacation in puerto rico. despite calls for austin's resignation, the president says he is not considering firing him. >> are you okay with secretary austin? >> i do. >> was it bad that he did not tell you earlier? >> yes. >> reporter: the inspector general continues to investigate why it took austin so long to disclose his hospitalization. norah. >> norah: weijia jiang at the white house, thank you. the u.s. navy is still searching tonight for two navy seals lost at sea during a mission to stop iranian weapons from making it to yemen. we are just learning what their team found, missile parts found for the houthi rebels, and tonight the biden administration is rever

are learning new details about the defense secretary lloyd austin's mysterious hospitalization at walter reedl military medical center which went unannounced for days. he's now out of the icu. the pentagon just that they don't have a release date yet for him and there are big questions tonight now that we know the white house and even his deputy secretary of defense were kept in the dark about this medical emergency. cbs's david martin has new reporting from the pentagon. >> reporter: president biden said today he has full confidence in lloyd austin, but his aides do not hide their displeasure that the commander-in-chief was not told his secretary of defense was in intensive care on new ye new year's day. >> an expectation that when a cabinet official becomes hospitalized that will be notified of the chain of command. >> reporter: pentagon or knowledge of the chairman of the joint chiefs, austen's staff, and spokesman all-new on januard been hospitalized. but waited for two more days before telling the white house. austin had been at home recovering from an elective medical procedure when he

secretary austin remains hospitalized at walter reed and is in good condition. by now you should have seen the statement released regarding his medical care. for the sake of ensuring everyone here today, i will read the full statement. this is a statement from dr. john maddox, trauma medical director, and dr. chestnut, national military center in bethesda, maryland. beginning the statement. as part of secretary austin's routinely recommended health screeng he's undergone regular prostate specific anti-gen surveillance. changes in his laboratory in early 2023 identified prostate cancer which required treatment. on december 22, 2023, after consultation with his medical team, he was admitted to walter reed national military medical center and underwent a minimally invasive medical procedure to treat and cure prostate cancer. he was under general anesthesia during this procedure. secretary austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. his prostate cancer was detected early. his prognosis is excellent. on january 1, 2024, secretar

walter reed medical center released the following on the timeline.er semi 22nd, 2023, he was admitted to walter reed national military medical center and underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure called a prostatectomy. maybe that's wrong. secretary austin was admitted to walter reed, national military medical center, with convocations from the december 22 procedure on januar. the decision was made to transfer him to the icu for close monitoring. explain the complications and why he landed in the icu, dr dr. makary. >> first of all, the fact that he's in the icu may simply reflect that he is a vip, it might not actually represent the severity of the level of the intensity of the complication. we see that all the time. what we do know is that he had a fluid collection -- that is, fluid build up in his abdomen. it's unclear why, and we also know he had a urinary tract infection, a known complication after a minimally invasive removal, which is what he had done. it's often done with a robot. the prognosis is very good. these are very common proc

is admitted to the hospital, taken by ambulance to walter reed on january 1st.h for the president of the quites to find out. in the meantime, by the way, the united states issued an ultimatum to houthi rebel about their attacks on shipping in the red sea, we conducted a strike in a baghdad against a member of an iranian-backed militia. all of this is happening while the secretary of defense was out of pocket, his deputy down on vacation in puerto rico, only knew she had some responsibility, didn't know why. this is no one to run a evident negotiation certainly -- a -- to run a government when there are two wars going on in the middle east and europe and a potential third conflict with china and the taiwan straits. stuart: you assess the vulnerability of america when, a, you can't find your defense secretary and, b, you don't know whether he's conscious or not. what's the level of vulnerability here? >> you know, stuart, it's hard to understate how vulnerable if it makes us. congressman mike waltz is exactly right. we have a limited amount of time if an adversary

kathleen hicks is her name, had been delegated some of his tasks while he was readmitted to the walter reed time. none of this really would have been as extraordinary were it not for the fact that lloyd austin, as the us defence secretary, is second only to the president in the us military chain of command. he is perhaps the person who holds that role, perhaps the most powerful, one of the most powerful members of the cabinet and then of course had to be constantly available. particularly given the current conflicts the united states is involved in in ukraine and the middle east. instead of being behind his desk at the pentagon, lloyd austin was in hospital, being treated for a condition nobody in the white house anyway seemed to know he had. republicans of course have called for lloyd austin to be removed from his post. the white house has said it has complete confidence in him. because of the way all of this is handled, it has raised questions about transparency on the part of us defence officials and, of course, competency of those at the pentagon. around the world and across the uk, thi

he didn't lose you in walter reed hospital thankfully. he didn't lose you anywhere.arah sanders he tracked me down in a movie theater sunday night because he didn't like what i said on one of the sunday talk shows. weigh in on this. this is redundant. we covered it in earlier segments. you were senior staff, cabinet level. in touch with the president at all time. we were all on guard. the guy could call anytime. how the hell do you not talk to your defense secretary for a week? >> larry, it confounds me and i want to take it a step further. even though the president and the vice president, biden and harris have very thin public schedules, you can look at them every day, they include the pdb, presidential daily brief. includes members of the pentagon, the second terrible of defense himself. the question is, with war in ukraine, war at the border, war in the middle east, why not only does the president not know where the secretary of defense is, why hasn't the president or vice president for that matter reached out to the secretary of defense own a number of issues. yo

and then he took an ambulance to walter reed on january 1st.to the president on a routine call. with severe pain. they put him into icu. so it was private. so nobody would find out. and nobody did for five more days. >> brian: what else? the president has a medical procedure, if the president is having some problems medically, should anyone feel good that we're going to get the information? i mean, this is -- they were supposed to be the most transparent administration ever. >> ainsley: didn't tell the boss. >> brian: will the president tell anybody? >> steve: the person in charge while he was gone didn't know he was gone. >> ainsley: did he apologize. he said he handled it incorrectly. there is an article saying this is definitely making eyes roll, heads spin, and is someone going to get fired because they didn't handle this properly? >> steve: right. >> ainsley: we do wish him the best. i hate this is going on. and he was in severe pain and went back to icu. >> brian: is he a military guy. the whole next man up. understand dispatched into bat

the secretary is out of the icu but remains at walter reed.pentagon says he has resumed his full duties and in a statement over the weekend, austin said he quote could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. joining us now, nbc news pentagon correspondent courtney kube, forget about the public, what about the president? >> reporter: that was absent from the statement we got from secretary defense over the weekend. he acknowledged that the media were upset about how this all unfolded, that no one was informed about this all week. he did not address the fact that despite the fact he was hospitalized in the intensive care unit on monday, new year's day, the white house, including national security adviser jake sullivan and president biden himself we n notified of his hospalization until thursday afternoon, and to add to that, we're learning a little bit more of the time lin today. in fact, senior leaders here in the pentagon, members of the joint chiefs, the service seeties and congressional leaders were not notifie

hospitalfor been admitted to hospital to walter reed hospital for complications with a minimallysness and never underwent general anaesthesia during this procedure to treat him for prostate cancer. this is of course in response to a little bit of criticism that he suffered from the fact that he didn't disclose he'd been admitted to hospital at the time. the white house confirming that he will not be fired despite the failure last week to disclose the failure last week to disclose the hospital admittance. more in a few minutes' time, bye—bye for me. —— from me. hello there. tuesday was another cold but much sunnier day for the vast majority of the country. however, there were a few areas that saw some snow, like here injersey and the channel islands. also saw some across south—west england, for example, around bodmin moor and some across the far north of scotland, around the murray coast. still have something of a hangover, though, from the very wet weather of last week. there are still 100 flood warnings in place with some communities still badly affected. satellite picture shows

the defense secretary lloyd austin has just been released from the walter reed national military medical center. austin was admitted to the hospital on new year's day after experiencing complications from a procedure to treat prostate cancer. oren lieberman joins us now. what are you learning? >> reporter: defense secretary lloyd austin has been in the hospital for two weeks. there has been no outlook on when he might be released until we got the update that following that admission into the hospital two weeks ago, he's come out of the hospital. he's not returning straight to the pentagon. he will be working remotely. his doctors say he's recovering well. he doesn't have any follow-up procedures for the prostate cancer. from the statement, secretary austin underwent a series of medical tests and evaluations and received nonsurgical care to resolve some lingering leg pains. he was discharged home with physical therapy. austin himself put out a statement saying, i'm grateful for the excellent care i received at walter reed and want to thank the outstanding doctors and nursing staff for the

. >> reporter: he was taken to walter reed medical center. complications happened after a surgery for prostate cancer, something that was not immediately disclosed to president biden or other security officials. >> did he pass out, or does he feel like he will pass out? >> no. >> like you said, he is awake, alert, he is not disoriented? >> reporter: one week later, he was admitted to the icu. it would be one more day before congress and the public were notified. the initial diagnosis of prostate cancer, which occurred in early december, was not noted until january 9th. >> do you know what happened to secretary lloyd austin? >> reporter: austin spent two weeks at walter reed medical center during a critical time for u.s. national security. the war in gaza had been raging into its fourth month. international shipping was attacked in the red sea. more attacks against the u.s. were launched in syria. and the u.s. carried out attacks that were authorized by austin in the hospital. there was a lack of notification and transparency, one from the sec

he thought he could go in and out of walter reed during his leave., at this operation that the doctors recommended, probably not evasive, and get back to work immediately and that was probably his plan until he started suffering a couple of days later. does any of that excuse the action of him not notifying or his staff not notifying this? absolutely not. the key is, the press conference today with all the special details of his illness, that is not something that usually happens. i am sure to try to tempt down some of the lack of transparency comments or are you going to resign comments, secretary austin had to have been asked and gave permission to let it all loose and tell everyone what happened. the last thing i will point out, sorry i'm going on for so long, it is the review process that has been talked about. the military is famous for their after action reviews where they say what happened, why did it happen, what do we do to make a difference and change it for the better, who is responsible? it is sort of a scab picking, if you will, of things that go wrong. i know secretary au

austin was admitted to walter reed on new year's day after complications from prostate cancer surgery. it was later discovered that president biden, the white house and members of congress were not told until several days later. what are these calls revealing? >> reporter: this shows that the efforts to keep this quiet. to keep this hidden from the public and other members of the administration began at the very beginning of defense secretary lloyd austin's time at the hospital, in fact on his way. this call took place at 7:11 p.m. on new year's day when a aid called 911 to bring in amulets to transfer him to walter reed national military medical center. that is not the nearest hospital to his home in northern virginia. that is where the aid requested that he be taken as quietly as possible. here is part of the recording. >> can i ask that the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? we are trying to remain subtle. >> i understand. you live in a residential neighborhood and they will turn them off. is he expressing chest pain? >> no. >> that he passout or does he feel like he wil

it read secretary of defense lloyd j austin remains hospitalized at walter reed national military centercovering well in a good sp spirit. while we do not have a specific date for his release at this time, we will continue to provide updates on the secretary status as they become available. doctor siegel, welcome to "the big weekend show" for the first time were so happy to have you here, what incredible timing. what does the statement say about the situation and the secretary finds himself in, further we find is a private person. >> atomic patient privacy covers this at all i think the first question the nonmedical one which is what did the defense department know and what did they tell the white house, this is not like a week when nothing went on yet a drone strike occurring in baghdad taking out an iranian based leader. you have the houthis saying after the 25th attack that they're in battle with the united states. where is the defense secretary, what might've happened even now look who's hinting at this have on our full disclosure, the american public learned from this that when you

. >>> this morning defense secretary lloyd austin remains at walter reed official and the fallout continuess to why the president and others were not note feud for day while he was this the hospital. the omissions include the defense secretary number two. two defense officials tell cnn kathleen hicks didn't know he was in the hospital even after he began his duties on january 2nd after being taken to the hospital by ambulance. we know that lloyd austin is a very, very private person and is in a public role. what are we learning this morning? >> nine who knows austin knows he's an intensively private person and he did not want the details of his elective surgery that led to the surgery to be public and has that right according to current and former officials that we've spoken tomorrow the issue is less that and the more of the fact that he entered the hospital on january 1st and spent several days in the intensive care unit and senior national security officials and the white house were in the aware that have until about three days later with the one exception of the chairman of the joint ch

he was admitted to walter reed medical center on new year's day for complications following an electiveedical procedure. the pentagon didn't mention the hospitalization for four days and made no mention of it at a press briefing on thursday. a short time ago a national security council spokesperson said president biden was informed of the secretary's condition, but didn't say when that occurred. arlette saenz is covering all of this for us. >> reporter: the pentagon says defense secretary lloyd austin is recovering well, but beyond that there are very few details disclosed about what sent him to the hospital. in disclosing this, they did not detail what the initial procedure was, what the complication was after it. they haven't answered questions about whether he was unconscious during any of this period or if he was ever in critical condition. he was admitted on new year's day, and it was not until late friday that they made this disclosure. the press secretary telling cnn the reason it took so long is it was an evolving situation that they had to take into account a number of factors,

the folks at walter reed is phenomenal.hey handle their medical issues like physicals and elective procedures. i've been through a couple of physicals there myself. the public should know they even have special soout suites. there are two issues here. first of all, austin's privacy and the need to give a heads-up to your boss if you're hospitalized. the public doesn't have a right to know. your boss has a need to know. it was reimportant as an elective procedure that had complications. having worked in the medical field since i retired, that's not unusual. some of those procedures can be embarrassing. it was probably something waiting to get done after the holidays. he and his staff should have notified the nsc and the white house. it's good to let your boss know if you're hospitalized. dod is truthfully, amara, and this is the important point, is prevented from talking about the medical issues of any of their personnel due to privacy issues and hipaa requirements that require privacy in health care disclosures. he said he'

it was not done at walter reed. >> griff: we don't, that is stunning, lack of transparency.rned from john kirby and the spokesman at the pentagon, pat ryder, the secretary is snot going anywhere. this is communication blunder. there is need to know. they are not telling us what it was that led and started all this that led to him being sent to the intensive care unit. perhaps we'll find out at a pentagon briefing later itself. >> brian: i heard a story yesterday that one of the former had the of comm lost communication on a plane he was so concerned he landed a plane because he knew he had to be in communication any time thachl is how concerned they are about losing communication, even in flight. that is how bizarre this is. he is not a civilian running the pentagon, he is a military guy and a general. don't they learn responsible behavior in training? >> griff: i interviewed keith kellogg and he said this is extremely serious. it could come to a matter of minutes if tehran were to attack tel aviv and the houthi attacks we're seeing. this was a matter of trust and confidence