GOP’s Eric Schmitt keeps digging after falling into a ditch of his own making

Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri is drawing scorn after a botched attempt to trap former special counsel Jack Smith at a Senate hearing on Sept. 29, and he has declined to acknowledge any mistake. MS NOW's Steve Benen reports that Schmitt, who had months to get ready, accused Smith of perjury, alleging Smith went to an Atlanta Hawks game to coordinate with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Schmitt displayed a poster board as supposed proof.

The claims fell apart. Schmitt had mistaken a college basketball game for an NBA one, mixing up the Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes, and he singled out a seat in an arena that does not exist. When Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota drew attention to the error, Schmitt grew loud and angry. Benen adds that attending a game in Atlanta would not have shown any collusion with Willis.

Afterward Schmitt told Capitol Hill reporters that his questions were legitimate. Asked whether he thought Smith had committed perjury, he replied, "We'll find out." Benen argues that a senator once would have admitted the slip and moved on. Schmitt took his defense to a far-right talk show, maintaining that all had gone well. Benen compares the episode with one exactly 11 years earlier, when then-Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah presented a chart to Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, only for her to point out it came from Americans United for Life. Chaffetz dropped the matter, while Benen predicts Schmitt's misstep will linger.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →