Republican fumbles Jack Smith conspiracy theory and calls Trump prosecutor ‘dirtbag’ in testy hearing

A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday turned combative when Republican Senator Eric Schmitt tried to back a theory that former special counsel Jack Smith coordinated with Georgia prosecutors, and the evidence he offered collapsed under correction. Schmitt accused Smith of perjury and said he would "go down as a total dirtbag." He held up a poster board of what he described as staff messages placing Smith at an Atlanta Hawks game, implying contact with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis while she pursued Donald Trump, according to The Independent.

The game in question was actually the Iowa Hawkeyes women's team playing Maryland in College Park on February 3, 2024, the same day the Hawks met the Golden State Warriors in Atlanta. Smith said he had gone to the Maryland game, mentioned that Caitlin Clark was playing, and noted that Marshals Service personnel accompanied him and could confirm it. He has consistently maintained that he never went to Atlanta during his tenure. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar told Schmitt he had the teams wrong and that Smith was owed an apology.

Other Republicans also berated Smith. Senator John Kennedy said Smith made him feel nauseous, and Senator Mike Lee compared his conduct unfavorably with Watergate. Senator Dick Durbin, the panel's senior Democrat, described the attacks as "petty, personal and political." Smith defended his work, saying prosecutors found evidence that Trump "engaged in serious crimes against our nation."

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →