Rep. Jonathan Jackson Traffic Excuse Goes Up in Smoke ... After Missing Hegseth Vote
Published
Rep. Jonathan Jackson couldn't wait another day to impeach Pete Hegseth ... but somehow couldn't make it a few more steps to the House floor to actually vote.
The Illinois Democrat was among 11 House members who missed Tuesday's crucial vote on Hegseth's impeachment ... allowing Republicans to send the resolution to the Judiciary Committee in a 211-204 vote.
Jackson blamed a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus for the delay ... but there's just one problem ... Charlie spotted him right outside the Capitol with time to spare.
Charlie says he even saw Jackson filming a social media video on the Capitol steps around 5:57 or 5:58 PM ... several minutes before the vote closed at 6:02 PM. Worth noting ... that video was never posted to his accounts.
In other words ... Jackson was practically at the finish line and somehow still missed the race.
And Charlie wasn't done ... he confronted Jackson outside the Capitol Wednesday, pressing him on why he missed the vote despite being steps away. Jackson called the blunder "inexcusable," but stressed it was only a procedural vote ... and when Charlie kept pushing, Jackson conceded, "I wish I could answer you in any more detail."
The irony here is pretty brutal ... because we caught Jackson earlier Tuesday insisting Democrats couldn't afford to wait until the new Congress was sworn in to impeach Hegseth.
For the record, 415 House members managed to vote ... and had all 11 absent Democrats voted against the Republican motion, it would've failed.
The impeachment effort, led by Republican Thomas Massie, accused Hegseth of illegally waging war against Iran and ordering deadly strikes on suspected drug boats.
Instead, Hegseth dodged that immediate showdown ... and Jackson is left explaining how he missed a vote he claimed he was so eager to cast.
