GOP Senator's Perjury Claim Against Jack Smith Falls Flat After Hawks-Hawkeyes Mixup

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., tried to land a political slam dunk against former special counsel Jack Smith during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, but the ball ended up in the wrong hoop entirely. The Missouri Republican accused Smith of perjury over an alleged trip to an Atlanta Hawks game, only to have the claim collapse when it emerged he had confused the NBA's Hawks with the Iowa State Hawkeyes college basketball team.

The exchange unfolded during a hearing on Smith's now-scuttled investigations into President Donald Trump. Schmitt pressed Smith on whether he attended a Golden State Warriors versus Atlanta Hawks game on February 3, 2024, in Atlanta, the day after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis publicly acknowledged her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade in her then-pending case against Trump.

Smith, appearing visibly confused, denied being at the game. When Schmitt pressed further, Smith recalled attending a different basketball game around that time: a University of Maryland matchup against the Iowa State Hawkeyes featuring superstar Caitlin Clark.

That detail proved decisive. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who questioned Smith next, had checked the record. She confirmed that Iowa State played Maryland on February 3, 2024, in Maryland, with Iowa winning 93 to 85 and Clark scoring over 30 points.

Klobuchar did not mince words in calling out Schmitt's blunder. She said the senator had