Sen. Eric Schmitt’s basketball mixup, a confident witness and other takeaways from Jack Smith’s hearing
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Republican Senator Eric Schmitt attempted to link Special Counsel Jack Smith to a Georgia prosecution scandal using alleged text messages. The attempt backfired when Smith denied the claims and the evidence presented was revealed to be misinterpreted.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the intense political scrutiny surrounding the special counsel's investigations into Donald Trump and the partisan friction in congressional hearings.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two indictments against now-President Donald Trump in 2023, testified in front of Congress again on Tuesday — this time, to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Smith’s testimony comes as Republicans continue to probe the investigations into Trump and as some in the party, including the president, have pushed for often-unspecified criminal charges to be brought against Smith. Here are the major takeaways from Tuesday’s hearing. An embarrassing episode epitomizes the GOP’s failures to pin down Smith Republicans have struggled mightily to substantiate Trump’s desire for Smith to be charged criminally. But rarely has it seemed to backfire like it did Tuesday. Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri crafted an apparent conspiracy theory about Smith being tied to the prosecution of Trump in Fulton County, Georgia.
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