Sen. Eric Schmitt accused former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury during a Senate hearing on Sept. 29 when he presented what he said were text messages showing Smith had lied about attending an Atlanta Hawks game, according to coverage of the exchange and the hearing.
Schmitt repeatedly pressed Jack Smith, arguing the messages and a poster board proved Smith lied about being at the March event; Smith denied the allegation in his testimony and defended his record, according to reporting from NBC News and The New York Times.
Video and contemporaneous reporting show the allegation collapsed when committee footage and reporting revealed Schmitt had conflated an NBA Hawks game with an Iowa Hawkeyes college event, undermining the perjury claim, Poynter and the Missouri Independent reported.
The exchange drew immediate attention online and among reporters, who noted that Schmitt’s line of questioning relied on a mistaken identification rather than new evidence about Smith’s sworn testimony, The New Republic and Slate wrote.
Jack Smith pushed back at the hearing and reiterated that his statements under oath were accurate; coverage of his testimony places the incident inside a larger session where Smith defended his investigations, per the pre-published Senate testimony article in the site’s feed.
The episode has political ramifications for Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, because reporters framed the mistake as a high-profile gaffe during a planned effort to challenge Smith’s credibility, according to NBC News and regional outlets.
Observers and media fact-checks said the moment undercut Schmitt’s attempt to portray Smith as dishonest rather than presenting new documentary proof, Poynter’s analysis added.
For readers who want immediate background on the hearing and on Schmitt’s recent positions, see earlier coverage of Jack Smith’s Senate testimony and reporting on Eric Schmitt’s policy stances.
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Sources
- NBC News — reported Schmitt’s accusation and covered Smith’s denial during the hearing.
- The New York Times — covered the hearing and noted Schmitt’s reliance on text messages and the poster board.
- Poynter — analyzed the Hawks/Hawkeyes mix-up that undercut the perjury claim.
- Missouri Independent — reported on the mistake and its political context for Sen. Eric Schmitt.
