Pre-Hearing Warnings and Unvetted Evidence
Republican staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee reportedly warned Sen. Eric Schmitt’s team that text messages provided by the Justice Department were "unvetted" before he utilized them during a hearing with former special counsel Jack Smith, according to MS NOW.
A source with direct knowledge of the conversation cited by the outlet stated that committee staff cautioned Schmitt’s team that they were responsible for verifying the information themselves. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) staff prepared a memo of significant information ahead of Smith’s appearance but left the texts out and did not provide them to Democratic senators before the hearing, MS NOW reported.
The Hearing Confrontation
During his questioning of Smith, Schmitt deployed the text messages, arguing they showed Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024, to suggest coordination with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Schmitt accused Smith of perjury, saying, "I think you’ve already perjured yourself."
Smith denied attending the game, stating, "I definitely did not go to a Hawks game. I’m sure of that." Footage posted by MeidasTouch showed Smith attended an Iowa-Maryland women’s college basketball game on the night in question.
Errors and Rebuttals
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) pointed out that Schmitt had confused the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes. MS NOW reported that the seat number referenced in the text messages did not exist at the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena.
When shown video of Smith at a women’s college basketball game in Maryland, Schmitt responded, "Great. Well, then he was at the Hawkeyes game. I just asked him if he was in Atlanta." Schmitt told TMZ DC he wasn’t embarrassed by the error and maintained his questions were valid because Smith has "lied before." Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume and CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings admitted Schmitt was at fault regarding the viral moment.