Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) made a stir Tuesday during Senate questioning of Jack Smith, former special prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, when his claims against Smith seemed to be nearly immediately debunked.
“Bottom line is Schmidt made an a** out of himself,” said Dave Glover of KMOX. “He… he humiliated the state of Missouri.”
Smith was appointed by former attorney general Merrick Garland to work on investigations into President Donald Trump (who at that time had recently lost the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden). During Schmitt’s questioning, the senator tried to allege that Smith had aimed to “get Trump” and that he colluded with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia, who charged Trump with racketeering and other charges related to the 2020 election in Georgia.
Schmitt’s “evidence” of this attempted allegation was text messages from people on Smith’s team referring to seats at an event related to “Hawks” – he asked Smith if he was at the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors basketball game in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024. His team lifted up a poster board with the texts but then quickly put it away.
Smith seemed confused at the question and said no. He then asked to see the poster and Schmitt refused. After Schmitt’s questioning was over, and after he called Smith a “dirtbag,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) requested that they allow the room to see the poster.
Then, Smith clarified that he remembered attending the Iowa Hawkeyes-Maryland Terrapins Feb. 2024. That game was played in Maryland, not Atlanta.
“Perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully,” Klobuchar said to Schmitt of the texts.
In response, the GOP lawmaker, identified by Rolling Stone as one of Trump’s loyal “MAGA” Republicans, scoffed that Klobuchar of “rehabilitating” the witness.
“I’m no Amy Klobuchar fan. She ate a salad with her comb, for love of God,” said Glover, referencing the infamous story about Klobuchar getting angry at her staffer for forgetting to bring her utensils. He added: “But I’m glad she was there today because someone needed to call him out on the floor of the Senate.”
After the hearing, news outlets also called out Schmitt’s Gaffe. The Washington Post reported that the “basketball mix-up” derailed the senator’s attempted “gotcha” moment, MS NOW described the moment as a “fumble,” and both HuffPost and CNN called it “embarrassing.”
“What an embarrassment. So ridiculous. How dare you, how dare you come in with your pants undone and one… shoe off and can and attack someone, a witness, and call them a felon, call them a dirtbag, say that they’ve already perjured themselves when you’re just wrong,” said Glover.
Co-host Rachel Zimmerman noted that Schmitt’s team “went in guns blazing with more confidence than I have ever possessed in my entire life,” and said it was a great example of confirmation bias in action. Kevin Wheeler, Glover’s other co-host, said he doesn’t expect Schmitt to address the mistake.
“He won’t talk to anybody that’ll ask him any real question,” said Wheeler.
Rolling Stone reported Tuesday that, “instead of admitting the mistake, some MAGA tastemakers have doubled down on Schmitt’s completely wrong assertion that Smith was lying about attending an Atlanta Hawks game in early 2024.”
“I asked him if he was in Atlanta. He said he was not in Atlanta,” said Schmitt following the exchange, according to The Washington Sun. “Jack Smith has lied before. He tried to jail the president of the United States. I have no sympathy for Jack Smith. He’s a total dirtbag.”
Meanwhile, MS NOW noted that the “humiliating moment for Schmitt,” might impact his chances to be a potential running mate to Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 presidential election. MS NOW said “Schmitt’s office did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s questions about where the senator received the information,” regarding the basketball game texts.
