Sen. Eric Schmitt backed out of a C-SPAN appearance after his attempted ‘gotcha’ of former special counsel Jack Smith spectacularly backfired, anchor says
Sen. Eric Schmitt pulled out of a planned appearance on C-SPAN’s Ceasefire after his attempt to catch former special counsel Jack Smith in a lie backfired.
Dasha Burns, a journalist who also hosts Ceasefire, said in a preview edition that Schmitt had been booked to appear opposite Sen. Chris Coons. Burns said Schmitt was supposed to appear but “pulled out” the day after the hearing.
Burns did not say why he withdrew and Schmitt has not publicly confirmed a reason.
The hearing behind the cancellation
Burns was referring to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which Smith testified about his investigations of President Donald Trump.
Smith brought two federal cases against Trump, one involving the 2020 election and another involving classified documents.
During questioning, Schmitt asked Smith whether he had attended a Warriors-Hawks NBA game in Atlanta on February 3, 2024. Schmitt suggested Smith may have been in Georgia to meet Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was then prosecuting Trump in a separate election case.
Schmitt linked the date to the day after Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade disclosed their romantic relationship.
Smith initially appeared confused but said he was certain he had not attended a Hawks game. Schmitt responded that Smith had “already perjured” himself.
Smith later recalled that he had attended a University of Maryland women’s basketball game around that time where Iowa star Caitlin Clark was playing.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) then suggested Schmitt had confused the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
What the texts actually said
Text messages Schmitt’s team relied on did not mention either the Hawks or the Hawkeyes. The messages between Smith’s staffers primarily concerned arena logistics, including seat locations and plans to meet.
The messages appear to have been used to place Smith in Atlanta based largely on the date.
Republican Judiciary Committee staff had reportedly warned Schmitt’s team that the texts were “unvetted.” The seat number referenced in the messages also reportedly did not exist at the Hawks’ arena.
Schmitt’s response
Schmitt said he was not embarrassed by the mistake. He said his questions were valid because Smith has “lied before.”
When told video exists of Smith at the Iowa game, Schmitt replied that Smith was then at the Hawkeyes game and that he had only asked whether Smith was in Atlanta.