Eric Schmitt’s Jack Smith “Gotcha” Moment Unravels After Hawks–Hawkeyes Mix-Up

A contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 29, 2026, produced an unexpected moment when Sen. Eric Schmitt questioned former special counsel Jack Smith about his whereabouts in February 2024.

Schmitt suggested that Smith had attended an Atlanta Hawks NBA game in Atlanta and used the allegation as part of his questioning about Smith's activities during the period surrounding the Georgia election-interference investigation. Schmitt displayed a poster board containing text messages and warned Smith about potentially perjuring himself.

Smith, however, said he did not recall attending an Atlanta Hawks game. He told the committee that he remembered attending a women's college basketball game around that time involving the University of Iowa and the University of Maryland.

The distinction became important because the Iowa team is known as the Hawkeyes, while Atlanta's NBA team is the Hawks.