As Jack Smith Testifies, a Senator's Accusation of Perjury Falls Apart / Smug GOP senator faceplants with humiliating 'gotcha' failure

 

As Jack Smith Testifies, a Senator's Accusation of Perjury Falls Apart

During a U.S. Senate hearing on September 29, 2026 , a perjury charge brought by Republican Senator Eric Schmitt against former Special Counsel Jack Smith completely collapsed. Schmitt accused Smith of lying about an alleged secret visit to a basketball game in Atlanta, but the senator turned out to have confused the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) with the Iowa Hawkeyes (college basketball)

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The accusation

Senator Eric Schmitt (Missouri) tried to demonstrate that Jack Smith had secretly traveled to Georgia to collude with local district attorney Fani Willis , who was also leading a criminal case against Donald Trump at the time.

• The "proof": Schmitt triumphantly displayed a board with intercepted text messages from Smith's team discussing tickets for a "the Hawks" game on February 3, 2024.
• The accusation: When Smith denied under oath that he had attended that NBA game in Atlanta, Schmitt snapped at him: "I think you just committed perjury ." Shortly afterward, he even called the prosecutor a "total dirtbag . "

The error

Jack Smith responded calmly but confusedly, stating that around that date he had gone to a university game in Maryland accompanied by the Marshals Service to see the famous basketball star Caitlin Clark play.

It soon became clear that Schmitt's team had made a crucial mistake by confusing the team names:

• Schmitt's assumption: An Atlanta Hawks NBA game in Atlanta, Georgia.
• The reality: A women's college basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the University of Maryland, played at College Park, Maryland.

Reactions in the Senate

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar had the location of the match investigated during the hearing. After confirming that Smith was indeed in Maryland, she accused Schmitt of spreading false information and stated that he owed an apology. She added that people "need to get their facts straight before calling others 'dirtbags' . "

Footage of the moment—including the live collapsing accusation and the stunned faces of bystanders—immediately went viral on social media

 

Smug GOP senator faceplants with humiliating 'gotcha' failure

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 29, 2026, Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri experienced a highly publicized and widely mocked "gotcha" failure while questioning former special counsel Jack Smith.

According to reports from outlets like The Independent and The Bulwark, Schmitt attempted to accuse Smith of perjury based on a conspiracy theory. Schmitt claimed he had "smoking gun" evidence—in the form of text messages displayed on a large poster board—proving that Smith's team had lied about his whereabouts. Specifically, Schmitt asserted that Smith was in Atlanta, Georgia, attending an NBA game. He used this allegation to suggest that Smith was secretly colluding with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis regarding prosecutions involving Donald Trump.

However, Schmitt's accusation collapsed due to a severe factual mix-up:

• The Team Confusion: Schmitt's staff found texts referencing a basketball game and assumed it meant the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
• The Reality: As Jack Smith and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar quickly pointed out, Smith was actually attending a college women's basketball game featuring the Iowa Hawkeyes (led by Caitlin Clark).
• The Location Error: Rather than being in Atlanta, Georgia, the Iowa Hawkeyes game took place in Maryland.

Despite having completely confused the "Hawks" with the "Hawkeyes," Schmitt initially doubled down on his aggressive questioning. The botched ambush went viral across social media and news broadcasts, with commentators and fellow lawmakers labeling the display a spectacular and humiliating political faceplant.