Re: the Department of Defence approved the information he would pass on to the press
As I understand it, the information Grusch passed on was cleared by the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review (DOPSR) and that information was reviewed mostly to make sure no classified info was included and that Grusch had not violated his NDA.
As said, I think that's what Grusch meant when he said he had followed protocol (in other words, Grusch was saying, in effect, that he hadn't broken the law).
IMO, Grusch is sincere but are the other actors, the ones who passed the info on to him? In these days of will to power, systemic lying, scheming, corruption, and so on, I think not.