Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) went into Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing armed with a theory: that former special counsel Jack Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024 — the same day Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis acknowledged in a court filing her relationship with Nathan Wade, the prosecutor leading the Georgia racketeering case against President Donald Trump. Schmitt's evidence, which he displayed before the committee, was a blown-up photo of what he described as text messages referencing a "hawks" basketball game.
Smith testified under oath Tuesday about his role investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. When Schmitt asked whether Smith attended a Golden State Warriors–Atlanta Hawks game on that date, Smith said he did not attend a Hawks game and did not believe he had set foot in Atlanta as special counsel, aside from possibly connecting through the airport. He also denied meeting Willis or Wade during his tenure, per the Washington Examiner.
Schmitt warned Smith not to perjure himself, saying words to the effect of, "I don't think you know that we have this stuff, so I'll give you a second to process it." After finishing his questioning, Schmitt called Smith a "total dirtbag."
Then the mix-up surfaced. Smith said he remembered attending a University of Maryland game against Iowa around that time, with the U.S. Marshals Service accompanying him. "It was Maryland playing Iowa," Smith said, adding that the date could be checked.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said the schedules fit both games — Iowa beat Maryland 93-85 in College Park on Feb. 3, 2024, with Caitlin Clark scoring 38 points, while the Hawks hosted the Warriors in Atlanta the same day. Klobuchar later returned to the dispute after confirming the Iowa–Maryland date and score, and said Smith was owed an apology, per the Washington Examiner. She also noted, from Minnesota, that the Hawkeyes and Hawks are easy to confuse.
The exchange devolved. According to the Washington Examiner's account, Klobuchar asked whether the reference could be to the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Schmitt objected to what he described as her attempt to "rehabilitate the witness," and the two traded heated remarks.
Why Schmitt made the play: Republicans have long argued the Biden White House and Justice Department coordinated with local prosecutors pursuing Trump, including Willis. House Judiciary Republicans cited billing records showing Wade charged for a "conf. with White House Counsel" on May 23, 2022, and an "Interview w"
Smith's testimony was the main event: he appeared under oath before the Judiciary Committee, and Schmitt used his time to try to place Smith in Georgia around Willis's court filing. Schmitt was floated this week as a possible vice presidential contender in a potential 2028 run with Vice President JD Vance, per the Washington Examiner. Politico reported that Schmitt appeared to have misinterpreted a text message reference to the "hawks."
It is not known what the texts Schmitt displayed actually said. The exchange turned on one word — Hawks or Hawkeyes — and the committee burned through its clock on a mascot.
Our Take
Schmitt's broader instinct is right, and he should keep pressing it. The country still does not have a straight answer about whether the Biden White House and Justice Department coordinated with local prosecutors going after Trump. The billing records already cited by House Judiciary Republicans — a conference with White House Counsel, an interview — are the kind of breadcrumbs that deserve a full accounting. A Senate committee with subpoena power is exactly the place to get it.
But if you are going to pin a witness to a date and a place, you had better have the date and place right. Schmitt walked into a hearing holding a receipt he had not read closely enough, and he did not have the sense to hear the word "Hawkeyes" and stop digging. The result: the story is a mascot mix-up and a Minnesota senator schooling a Missouri senator on college basketball. That is a gift to Smith and to the Democrats who spent the hearing trying to make Schmitt look like the one who perjured himself.
The perjury trap only works if the trap is real. Next time, check the game tape before you tell a witness to process the evidence. The Left will replay this clip for a week — the question is whether Schmitt goes back to the records that actually matter.
