WASHINGTON (Reuters)

An investigation released on Wednesday into U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret 2024 hospitalization found his desire for privacy drove notification failures inside the government and that medication that could have affected his cognitive functions while still in sole command.

“Secretary Austin received several different medications during the morning of January 2 that had the potential to affect cognitive functions,” the Pentagon’s independent Inspector General wrote.

Austin’s authorities were not transferred to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, until 2:22 p.m., according to the report.

The Pentagon had previously denied he was under any medications that could have impacted his judgment before a transfer of authority. Spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder said on Jan. 9: “I have no indications (of) anything that would affect his decision making.”