Senator Schmitt’s basketball-game gaffe backfires as text evidence reveals misstep

In a heated Senate Judiciary Committee session, Republican Senator Eric Schmitt presented text excerpts to accuse former Special Counsel Jack Smith of lying about his whereabouts on Feb. 3, 2024, alleging Smith was at an Atlanta Hawks basketball game and thus linked to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s Georgia election probe. Video footage later placed Smith at an Iowa Hawkeyes women’s game in Maryland, and the released texts, exchanged between Smith’s staff from July 2023 to May 2024, contain no reference to the Hawks or Hawkeyes, only seat-finding details.

A basic search would have shown the cited seat does not exist at State Farm Arena. The revelation undermined Schmitt’s line of questioning and coincided with reports that his chief counsel Ethan Harper’s anticipated move to the White House Staff Secretary’s office is now uncertain. Schmitt’s spokesperson said the senator was unaware of texts mentioning Caitlin Clark, a Hawkeyes star, and that the only commonality he shares with Smith is a love of college sports. The episode highlights the pitfalls of poorly vetted political attacks.