Hawks or Hawkeyes? Eric Schmitt’s Jack Smith grilling runs into basketball mix-up

Sen. Eric Schmitt’s (R-MO) effort to place former special counsel Jack Smith in Atlanta amid the Fani Willis controversy hit a snag on Tuesday when Smith said the basketball game he remembered attending featured Caitlin Clark in Maryland, not a supposed NBA game in the Peach State. The exchange during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s under-oath […]

Sen. Eric Schmitt’s (R-MO) effort to place former special counsel Jack Smith in Atlanta amid the Fani Willis controversy hit a snag on Tuesday when Smith said the basketball game he remembered attending featured Caitlin Clark in Maryland, not a supposed NBA game in the Peach State.

The exchange during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s under-oath hearing revealed Schmitt had apparently confused the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.

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Schmitt, who was floated this week to be a possible vice presidential contender in a potential 2028 presidential run with Vice President JD Vance, asked whether Smith attended a Golden State Warriors-Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024, connecting the date to Willis’s acknowledgment of a relationship with Nathan Wade, the prosecutor who led the Georgia racketeering case against President Donald Trump.

Smith denied attending a Hawks game and said he did not believe he had visited Atlanta as special counsel, aside from possibly connecting through its airport. He also denied meeting Willis or Wade during his tenure.

Schmitt then invoked messages he said placed Smith at the game.

“I don’t think you know that we have this stuff, so I’ll give you a second to process it,” Schmitt said, warning Smith against perjuring himself.

Smith requested another look at the display. Schmitt moved on, saying, “I think you’ve already perjured yourself.”

After Schmitt concluded his questioning by calling Smith a “total dirtbag,” Democrats pressed for the witness to receive a copy and respond.

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Washington. (Allison Robbert/AP Photo)

Smith offered a different explanation. 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) identified the potential source of confusion.

“Could it then be that University of Iowa’s the Hawkeyes?” she asked.

Klobuchar later pointed out that the schedules fit both games. Iowa beat Maryland 93-85 in College Park on Feb. 3, 2024, with Clark scoring 38 points. The Hawks also hosted the Warriors that day.

Schmitt maintained that the messages raised questions about potential coordination with prosecutors in Atlanta.

Klobuchar later returned to the dispute after confirming the Iowa-Maryland game’s date and score, saying the accusation meant Smith deserved an apology.

Republicans have long questioned whether the Biden White House and Justice Department coordinated with local prosecutors pursuing Trump, including Willis. Billing records cited by House Judiciary Republicans show Wade charged for a “conf. with White House Counsel” on May 23, 2022, and an “Interview with DC/White House” on Nov. 18, 2022 — the day then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel.

JACK SMITH DEPUTY ADVOCATED ‘REPEALING’ CONGRESSIONAL PROTECTIONS PRIOR TO JAN. 6

The basketball conversation briefly interrupted a hearing focused on Smith’s investigations of Trump, leaving senators arguing over whether an attempted confrontation about Georgia prosecutors instead concerned a women’s college basketball game in Maryland that Smith instead attended.

Republicans are scrutinizing the aggressive tactics Smith used to investigate Trump and his allies.

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