Senator shoots airball with basketball mix-up during heated Senate hearing

Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt is now facing the fallout from a basketball mix-up that derailed his attempt in challenging former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith in Tuesday’s Senate hearing. 

What we know:

Schmitt was questioning former U.S. attorney Jack Smith, trying to get Smith to perjure himself during the hearing, repeatedly asking him about attending an NBA game in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024 between the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors. 

"So your testimony today is that you did not go to a Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024. Is that correct?" Schmitt asks Smith in a stern manner. "What would you say if I had a series of text messages from your team that said you were in Atlanta at a Warriors-Hawks game on Feb. 2, 2024?"

In his "gotcha" moment, Schmitt produced poster board cutouts of text messages, referencing Smith attending a "Hawks" game. Schmitt even warned Smith that he should take his time to process because of his "surprise" evidence. Smith, unsure specifically if he actually had been in Atlanta at any point around the timeframe that was referenced, but absolutely certain he did not attend an Atlanta Hawks game. 

The other side:

It became abundantly clear that Sen. Schmitt was referencing a whole other game. Smith recalled attending a University of Iowa women’s basketball game around that day in question, when basketball star Caitlin Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes were playing against the University of Maryland. 

Backing him up, Sen. Amy Klobuchar interjected, "Could it then be that the University of Iowa was the Hawkeyes?" she asked. "Perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully."

Big picture view:

Smith, was defending his work as a special prosecutor in an hours-long Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the prosecution of President Trump in conspiring to overturn the results. 

In the Senate hearing, Schmitt was attempting to set Smith in Atlanta at the time Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was being scrutinized about her romantic relationship with a state prosecutor she hired for the election-interference case against President Trump. 

What they're saying:

Schmitt is now facing the backlash from the blunder, hearing from media and Congressional colleagues alike.  

Sen. Adam Schiff of California later posted to social media, "The exact moment I knew Republican attacks on Jack Smith were a colossal mistake."

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, again later adding more, "The only person who needed ‘rehabilitation’ in today's hearing was my colleague who didn’t know the difference between the Hawks and the Hawkeyes," she said in a X post. "Don't try to distract the American people from rising costs and people losing their health care, especially if you don't have your facts straight."

Schmitt himself later addressed his questioning in his own post, asking, "Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?"

The backstory:

Smith has remained a frequent target of criticism from President Trump. Republicans at Tuesday’s Senate hearing echoed many of those criticisms, seeking to portray Smith’s prosecutions as politically motivated and accusing him of bending Justice Department procedures in his pursuit of Trump. Smith pushed back, maintaining that his investigations were based on evidence and were not influenced by politics.

 

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