Hawks or Hawkeyes? Eric Schmitt’s Jack Smith grilling runs into basketball mix-up

Published September 29, 2026 11:56am ET | Updated September 29, 2026 11:56am ET



Sen. Eric Schmitt’s (R-MO) effort to place former special counsel Jack Smith in Atlanta amid the Fani Willis controversy hit a snag on Tuesday when Smith said the basketball game he remembered attending featured Caitlin Clark in Maryland, not a supposed NBA game in the Peach State.

The exchange during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s under-oath hearing revealed Schmitt had apparently confused the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.

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