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Are former special counsel Jack Smith, the Atlanta Hawks, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis connected in a deep-seated conspiracy to persecute Donald Trump? The seemingly obvious answer would be no. It is not so obvious, though, to Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, who seemed to think on Tuesday that he had concocted the perfect gotcha moment against Smith. During a Senate judiciary hearing, an overly zealous Schmitt claimed he had text messages proving Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks game the day after Willis made headlines for admitting to maintaining a romantic relationship with a prosecutor on her staff. You might be asking, “So what?” It’s a good question. But according to Schmitt, Smith’s alleged attendance at this basketball game meant that he and Willis had colluded on her 2020 election interference indictment of Trump and 18 others, looking together for a way to keep it alive after Willis’ romantic escapades jeopardized her prosecution.

Smith, as you might expect, was confused by this line of questioning, stammering that he didn’t recall attending any Hawks games. This was when Schmitt, believing he was on the verge of a slam dunk, accused Smith of perjury. Schmitt’s theory, though, couldn’t even hit the rim: It turned out that Smith had not attended the Hawks game in question. As Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar pointed out, Schmitt had confused the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes, who were playing a women’s college basketball game the same day of the NBA Hawks game in question, but in Maryland, not Georgia.

The whole exchange has to be seen to be believed.

extremely weird shit during the Jack Smith hearing -- Sen. Eric Schmitt's team briefly displays a poster board that Schmitt claims contains evidence Smith committed perjury, but then Schmitt's team takes it down before anybody can read it and refuses to show Smith what it says— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-09-29T14:55:19.334Z

extremely weird shit during the Jack Smith hearing -- Sen. Eric Schmitt's team briefly displays a poster board that Schmitt claims contains evidence Smith committed perjury, but then Schmitt's team takes it down before anybody can read it and refuses to show Smith what it says

Here is how the painfully cringeworthy back-and-forth played out:

Schmitt: So your testimony today is that you did not go to an Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024, is that correct?Smith: I have no recollection of that.Schmitt: OK, is it your testimony that you were not in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024? Smith: [Silent, appears dumbstruck.]Schmitt: Let me just give you a little context, the day before Fani Willis came clean with her affair with the prosecutor, you know the........

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