五角大楼周三宣布，国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀的幕僚长辞职。五个月前，奥斯汀和他的高级助手因未告知白宫他在医院接受前列腺癌治疗而面临负面影响。
官员们告诉记者，凯利·马格萨门的辞职与1月份的住院丑闻无关，该丑闻仍在由国防部监察长审查。
奥斯汀办公室领导的另一项内部审查得出结论，没有迹象表明“恶意或试图混淆”局势，也没有指责谁，基本上证明了马格赛门的清白。在得知奥斯汀的身体状况后，他因流感在家养病。
奥斯汀在一份冗长的声明中表示，马格赛门仍然是“模范公共服务”的典范。
他写道:“从本届政府的第一天起，凯利的领导、建议和无私服务使我们的国家更加安全，使我们人民的生活更美好、更有意义，并使我办公室的沉重负担减轻了一点。”“在每个阶段，她都坚定地指导我们的员工和部门。我欠她一份情，而且还会一直欠下去。”
奥斯汀去年年底被诊断出患有前列腺癌，最初他利用个人假期接受了五角大楼后来称之为微创手术的治疗。但随后的并发症导致他在新年第二次住院。直到1月4日，也就是他被释放的前一天，白宫才得知这两起事件。
此后，奥斯汀为向白宫、国会和公众隐瞒自己的健康状况道歉。作为美国总统乔·拜登的最高文职军事顾问，奥斯汀在拜登的授意下负责监督美国的军事政策和指挥美军。
更多:国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀说癌症诊断是“致命一击”，本能是保密
奥斯汀还坚称，在他无法履行职责的每一个时刻——包括手术期间——他的副手都是正式负责人，并完全有权与白宫沟通——即使白宫并不知道这一点。
“我们没有正确处理这件事。我没有处理好这件事，”他在2月份告诉众议院军事委员会。“如你所知，我已经道歉了……包括直接向总统道歉。我负全责。”
共和党批评人士质疑奥斯汀内部审查的有效性，认为员工对医疗隐私和快速变化的形势的担忧是主要原因。然而，这份公开摘要没有回答一些关键问题，比如他的工作人员何时意识到他的病情，以及国防部长本人是否被建议向白宫发出警报，但他没有选择这样做。
五角大楼监察长的独立调查尚未公布，官员们表示，他们不能说何时可能公布调查结果。
Defense Secretary Austin's chief of staff steps down
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's chief of staff is stepping down, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, five months after Austin and his top aide faced blowback for not telling the White House that he was in the hospital for treatment of prostate cancer.
Officials told reporters that Kelly Magsamen's resignation had nothing to do with the hospitalization scandal in January, which remains under review by the Defense Department inspector general.
A separate internal review led by Austin's office concluded there was no indication of "ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate" the situation and did not assign blame, essentially clearing Magsamen, who upon learning of Austin's medical condition was home sick with the flu.
In a lengthy statement, Austin said Magsamen remained an example of "exemplary public service."
"From day one of this administration, Kelly's leadership, counsel, and selfless service made our nation safer, made the lives of our people better and more rewarding, and rendered the heavy burden of this office of mine a good bit lighter," he wrote. "At every stage, she provided a steady hand guiding our staff and the Department. I am -- and will remain -- in her debt."
Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer late last year and initially used personal leave to undergo what the Pentagon later said was a minimally invasive procedure. But subsequent complications from that procedure resulted in a second hospitalization on New Year's Day. The White House didn't learn about either event until Jan. 4, a day before he was released.
Austin has since apologized for keeping his health quiet from the White House, Congress and the public. As President Joe Biden's top civilian military adviser, Austin oversees U.S. military policy commands U.S. forces at Biden's behest.
MORE: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says cancer diagnosis was 'gut punch,' instinct was keep private
Austin also insists that at each point when he was unable to perform his duties -- including during surgery -- that his deputy was officially in charge and had full access to communications with the White House -- even if the White House didn't know it.
"We did not handle this right. And I did not handle this right," he told the House Armed Services Committee in February. "And as you know, I have apologized … including directly to the president. And I take full responsibility."
Republican critics have questioned the validity of Austin's internal review which said staff concerns about medical privacy and a rapidly changing situation were mostly to blame. The public summary did not, however, answer key questions about when individual members of his staff became aware of his condition and whether the defense secretary himself was advised to alert the White House but chose not to.
An independent investigation by the Pentagon's inspector general has not been released, and officials said they cannot say when it might be made public.
