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His anticipated moment of triumph against the former special counsel crumbled when it became clear he had mistaken the Iowa Hawkeyes college women's team for the Atlanta Hawks NBA franchise in key "gotcha" questioning aimed at placing Smith in Atlanta. The Missouri Republican had been the subject of a glowing Axios story Tuesday morning. By the afternoon, however, clips of Schmitt's failed attempt to accuse Smith of perjury had gone viral. Newsweek has reached out to Schmitt via email for comment. When reached for comment by Politico, Schmitt gave the following explanation, “Well, we had text messages from [Smith’s] team that he was at a basketball game, and the only game at 7:30 tip-off in the NBA was in Atlanta.” “I didn’t know he was a Caitlin Clark fan. Now we know," he added. Eric Schmitt Touted as Next Vice President On Tuesday morning, Schmitt was the subject of an Axios report highlighting his growing relationship with Vice President JD Vance and describing him as a potential 2028 running mate. "We hear the VP views Schmitt, 51, as trustworthy, intelligent, articulate and a deft political operator," the story read. Suggesting that he has "grown close to Vice President Vance and is seen as a top prospect to become a potential 2028 running mate." Within hours, however, the Missouri Republican's day had taken a dramatically different turn from fellow senators and much of the internet. Schmitt’s Senate Mistake Smith, who led two criminal cases against then-former President Donald Trump in 2023, was at the center of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday where Schmitt raised perjury allegations against him. Calling Smith a "dirtbag," Schmitt suggested the prosecutor may have been in Atlanta around the same time key developments were unfolding in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' case against Trump, raising the prospect of improper coordination. Smith, looking bewildered, denied having been to an Atlanta Hawks game, but Schmitt did not let it go. "What would you say if I said I have a series of text messages from your team that said you were in Atlanta at a Warrior-Hawks game on February 3rd, 2024," Schmitt asked, as behind him a large board was briefly shown displaying messages from Smith's staff. Schmitt initially refused to again show the text messages on the board, saying to Smith, "I don’t think you know that we have this stuff." The messages on the board did not appear to reference any basketball team or game. "I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing right around that time," Smith offered. The apparent flaw in Schmitt's accusation emerged minutes later when Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar suggested he may have confused the Atlanta Hawks with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, the team Clark played for at the time. "Could it then be that University of Iowa is the Hawkeyes? … That might be the confusion over the names of the team," she said. It later emerged that there is even footage showing Smith in the crowd at the February 3, 2024, Maryland-Iowa game, appearing to confirm his account that he had attended the matchup featuring Clark rather than an NBA tilt in Atlanta. It was here that Schmitt's "gotcha" moment began to unravel. As Schmitt snapped back at Klobuchar, accusing her of trying to "rehabilitate the witness," television cameras lingered on Republican Senator Katie Britt. The shot quickly became part of the story itself, with MS NOW airing a slow zoom-in on Britt, mouth agape in shock, that has spread widely on social media as users joked that it captured the realization that Schmitt's line of questioning had gone badly. Influencers Jumped the Gun It was not just Schmitt that came out of Tuesday’s hearing with a red face. Several prominent conservative commentators circulated clips of the exchange as evidence that Smith had been caught in a lie, only to delete or quietly abandon those claims after the Hawkeyes explanation emerged. In a now-deleted post on X, Fox News' Sean Hannity shared the text message moment, adding: "Eric Schmitt puts Jack Smith on the spot in the Senate Judiciary hearing." Trump-supporting influencer Benny Johnson also deleted an X post where he said: "Senator Eric Schmidt just CAUGHT Jack smith perjuring himself on the stand in his testimony." He added: "Jack Smith denied having any contact with Fani Willis and denied going to an NBA game in Atlanta. Then Eric Schmitt pulled out the receipts." Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick, Trevor Davies and Edward T. Cummins  (https://www.newsweek.com/news) News   Jack Smith Missouri JD Vance Basketball Vice President Senate Judiciary Committee Atlanta  (Jack Smith) (https://www.newsweek.com/topic/jack-smith) Jack Smith  (Missouri) (https://www.newsweek.com/topic/missouri) Missouri  (JD Vance) (https://www.newsweek.com/topic/jd-vance) JD Vance  (Basketball) (https://www.newsweek.com/topic/basketball) Basketball  (Vice President) (https://www.newsweek.com/topic/vice-president) Vice President  (Senate Judiciary Committee) (https://www.newsweek.com/topic/senate-judiciary-committee) Senate Judiciary Committee  (Atlanta) (https://www.newsweek.com/topic/atlanta) Atlanta     News Article         The Implosion of Eric Schmitt    Published Sep 30, 2026 at 10:41 AM EDT  updated Sep 30, 2026 at 04:04 PM EDT        (Alice Gibbs)   By  (https://www.newsweek.com/authors/alice-gibbs) Alice Gibbs  Senior Reporter             0        Share    (https://www.newsweek.com/editorial-guidelines)          Newsweek is a Trust Project member            See more of our trusted coverage when you search.      Prefer Newsweek on Google        to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.      Senator Eric Schmitt bounced from "vice-presidential pick" to social media meme after purported "slam dunk" perjury evidence against Jack Smith fell flat in a basketball mix-up. His anticipated moment of triumph against the former special counsel crumbled when it became clear he had mistaken the Iowa Hawkeyes college women's team for the Atlanta Hawks NBA franchise in key "gotcha" questioning aimed at placing Smith in Atlanta. The Missouri Republican had been the subject of a glowing Axios story Tuesday morning. By the afternoon, however, clips of Schmitt's failed attempt to accuse Smith of perjury had gone viral. Read Moreon  News                            Newsweek has reached out to Schmitt via email for comment. When reached for comment by Politico, Schmitt gave the following explanation, “Well, we had text messages from [Smith’s] team that he was at a basketball game, and the only game at 7:30 tip-off in the NBA was in Atlanta.” “I didn’t know he was a Caitlin Clark fan. Now we know," he added. (U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican from Missouri, looks on as former special counsel Jack Smith testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on September 29.)   ...     Eric Schmitt Touted as Next Vice President On Tuesday morning, Schmitt was the subject of an Axios report highlighting his growing relationship with Vice President JD Vance and describing him as a potential 2028 running mate. "We hear the VP views Schmitt, 51, as trustworthy, intelligent, articulate and a deft political operator," the story read. Suggesting that he has "grown close to Vice President Vance and is seen as a top prospect to become a potential 2028 running mate."  Within hours, however, the Missouri Republican's day had taken a dramatically different turn from fellow senators and much of the internet.  (Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on September 29 in Washington, D.C.)   ...     Schmitt’s Senate Mistake Smith, who led two criminal cases against then-former President Donald Trump in 2023, was at the center of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday where Schmitt raised perjury allegations against him. Calling Smith a "dirtbag," Schmitt suggested the prosecutor may have been in Atlanta around the same time key developments were unfolding in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' case against Trump, raising the prospect of improper coordination. Smith, looking bewildered, denied having been to an Atlanta Hawks game, but Schmitt did not let it go.  "What would you say if I said I have a series of text messages from your team that said you were in Atlanta at a Warrior-Hawks game on February 3rd, 2024," Schmitt asked, as behind him a large board was briefly shown displaying messages from Smith's staff. (Republican Senators Eric Schmitt, seated, and John Kennedy, standing, display a sign while suggesting that former special counsel Jack Smith met with Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, at a hearing on September 29 in Washington, D.C.)   ...     Schmitt initially refused to again show the text messages on the board, saying to Smith, "I don’t think you know that we have this stuff."  The messages on the board did not appear to reference any basketball team or game. "I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing right around that time," Smith offered.  The apparent flaw in Schmitt's accusation emerged minutes later when Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar suggested he may have confused the Atlanta Hawks with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, the team Clark played for at the time. "Could it then be that University of Iowa is the Hawkeyes? … That might be the confusion over the names of the team," she said. It later emerged that there is even footage showing Smith in the crowd at the February 3, 2024, Maryland-Iowa game, appearing to confirm his account that he had attended the matchup featuring Clark rather than an NBA tilt in Atlanta.  (https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/2105019043623145594?s=20) View this post on X      It was here that Schmitt's "gotcha" moment began to unravel. As Schmitt snapped back at Klobuchar, accusing her of trying to "rehabilitate the witness," television cameras lingered on Republican Senator Katie Britt.  The shot quickly became part of the story itself, with MS NOW airing a slow zoom-in on Britt, mouth agape in shock, that has spread widely on social media as users joked that it captured the realization that Schmitt's line of questioning had gone badly.  (https://twitter.com/thepondering_/status/2104969137814745596?s=20) View this post on X      Influencers Jumped the Gun It was not just Schmitt that came out of Tuesday’s hearing with a red face. Several prominent conservative commentators circulated clips of the exchange as evidence that Smith had been caught in a lie, only to delete or quietly abandon those claims after the Hawkeyes explanation emerged.  In a now-deleted post on X, Fox News' Sean Hannity shared the text message moment, adding: "Eric Schmitt puts Jack Smith on the spot in the Senate Judiciary hearing." Trump-supporting influencer Benny Johnson also deleted an X post where he said: "Senator Eric Schmidt just CAUGHT Jack smith perjuring himself on the stand in his testimony." He added: "Jack Smith denied having any contact with Fani Willis and denied going to an NBA game in Atlanta. Then Eric Schmitt pulled out the receipts."  Contact Newsweek editors on this story: (mailto:j.fitzpatrick@newsweek.com) John Fitzpatrick ,  (mailto:t.davies@newsweek.com) Trevor Davies   and (https://www.newsweek.com/e.cummins@newsweek.com) Edward T. 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