Former special counsel Jack Smith, who led two criminal cases against Donald Trump in 2023, faced attacks from Republicans in a wide-ranging hearing on Tuesday that included a basketball mix-up, a reference to the tooth fairy and accusations of perjury. In the Senate judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday, the Republican senator Eric Schmitt, of Missouri, raised perjury allegations against Smith, seemingly over a mix-up about the Atlanta Hawks and University of Iowa Hawkeyes basketball teams. Schmitt, who called Smith a “dirtbag”, claimed the prosecutor went to Atlanta to attend a Hawks game on 3 February 2024, and insinuated Smith may have met with Fani Willis, the former Fulton county district attorney who brought state charges against Trump.
But Smith denied ever attending an Atlanta Hawks game. He later clarified that he attended a University of Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland to watch Caitlin Clark play. The Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, admonished Schmitt for presenting the claim as evidence and accusing Schmitt of lying.
The Guardian has asked Schmitt’s office for comment. The unusual exchange between Schmitt and Smith became a highlight of the hearing on social media. Smith also testified to the Senate judiciary committee to defend his handling of two federal investigations into Trump – one related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the other regarding Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
Both cases were dismissed before going to trial. Republicans have accused Smith of bringing the investigations to undermine Trump and targeting Republicans in the process – including by subpoenaing phone records from members of Congress. Smith has defended his practices, saying the subpoenas were necessary to collect evidence that Trump called members of Congress to try to delay the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
But Tuesday’s hearing was also defined by other tense exchanges between Republican senators and Smith. The Republican John Kennedy, of Louisiana, appeared frustrated after raising accusations that former president Joe Biden or his White House staff told the then attorney general Merrick Garland to prosecute Trump – an allegation with no public evidence. Smith said he did not know about conversations between Biden and Garland regarding the subject.
Darline Graham, the senator from South Carolina, used her time during the hearing to accuse Smith of “trying to bully” her brother, the late senator Lindsey Graham, and causing him stress with subpoenas. But Smith pushed back on Darline Graham’s assertion. He was not a target of our investigation, and in fact he likely would have been a witness in our case,” Smith replied, adding that Lindsey Graham did not believe the 2020 election was stolen.
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