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A Democrat late to the vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was allegedly spotted outside the Capitol with “minutes to spare.”
Representative Jonathan Jackson of Illinois was one of 11 Democrats to miss the Tuesday vote, which resulted in a 211-204 decision to refer eight articles of impeachment to the Judiciary Committee, delaying any future impeachment effort.
Jackson and several other Democrats have said that a traffic incident stopped them from arriving in time for the vote.
“The vote last night was at 6:05 p.m. I saw you on the steps last night about 10 minutes before that,” TMZ reporter Charlie Cotton told Jackson in footage recorded on the Capitol steps on Wednesday.
“You claimed there was a traffic jam that prevented you from reaching the vote and voting, but I had seen you having arrived on the steps with minutes to spare,” Cotton said. “So, I’m sorry to put you in a tricky position, but I’m wondering why didn’t you vote? You were here!”
Jackson responded by citing the traffic incident, which he had previously said on X involved a “police-escorted bus.”
The representative said in his statement that he has entered a “NO”
