During a Senate judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday, former special counsel Jack Smith faced intense criticism from Republican senators over his investigations into Donald Trump. Senator Eric Schmitt accused Smith of perjury regarding a trip to Atlanta, though Smith clarified he was actually in Maryland for a University of Iowa Hawkeyes game. The hearing also saw Senator John Kennedy accuse Smith of not believing in the Tooth Fairy and say that Smith made him want to throw up, highlighting the contentious nature of the proceedings.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-29,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Former special counsel Jack Smith, who led two criminal cases against Donald Trump in 2023, faced attacks from Republicans in a wide-ranging hearing on Tuesday that included a basketball mix-up, a reference to the tooth fairy and accusations of perjury.
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that → lead → perjury
In the Senate judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday, the Republican senator Eric Schmitt, of Missouri, raised perjury allegations against Smith, seemingly over a mix-up about the Atlanta Hawks and University of Iowa Hawkeyes basketball teams.
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senator → raise → teams
Schmitt, who called Smith a “dirtbag”, claimed the prosecutor went to Atlanta to attend a Hawks game on 3 February 2024, and insinuated Smith may have met with Fani Willis, the former Fulton county district attorney who brought state charges against Trump.
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who → call → Trump
But Smith denied ever attending an Atlanta Hawks game.
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Smith → deny → game
He later clarified that he attended a University of Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland to watch Caitlin Clark play.
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Clark → clarify → Maryland
The Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, admonished Schmitt for presenting the claim as evidence and accusing Schmitt of lying.
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senator → admonish → Schmitt
“I would just say, for a US senator to have false information, and imply, based on a confusion about the name of a team … that you were in another city, that you were somehow involved, that day, in what was happening in Georgia, and then call you a ‘dirtbag’, is something that deserves an apology,” Klobuchar said.
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Klobuchar → say → apology
The Guardian has asked Schmitt’s office for comment.
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Guardian → ask → comment
The unusual exchange between Schmitt and Smith became a highlight of the hearing on social media.
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exchange → become → media
Smith also testified to the Senate judiciary committee to defend his handling of two federal investigations into Trump – one related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the other regarding Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
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Smith → testify → documents
Both cases were dismissed before going to trial.
Republicans have accused Smith of bringing the investigations to undermine Trump and targeting Republicans in the process – including by subpoenaing phone records from members of Congress.
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Republicans → dismiss → Congress
Smith has defended his practices, saying the subpoenas were necessary to collect evidence that Trump called members of Congress to try to delay the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
But Tuesday’s hearing was also defined by other tense exchanges between Republican senators and Smith.
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hearing → defend → senators
The Republican John Kennedy, of Louisiana, appeared frustrated after raising accusations that former president Joe Biden or his White House staff told the then attorney general Merrick Garland to prosecute Trump – an allegation with no public evidence.
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Biden → appear → evidence
Smith said he did not know about conversations between Biden and Garland regarding the subject.
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he → say → subject
“Do you believe in the Tooth Fairy?” Kennedy asked Smith.
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Kennedy → believe → Smith
The question elicited a response from Smith: “I no longer believe in the Easter Bunny.”
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I → elicit → Bunny
At one point, Kennedy told Smith: “You make me want to throw up in my mouth.”
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me → tell → mouth
Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas who became increasingly angry while talking about Smith subpoenaing congressional members’ phone records, told Smith: “Javert from Les Mis would look at you with astonishment.”
Cruz insinuated that Smith used his position as a special counsel to target Republicans by requesting records from the Republican National Committee and other conservative lawmakers.
Darline Graham, the senator from South Carolina, used her time during the hearing to accuse Smith of “trying to bully” her brother, the late senator Lindsey Graham, and causing him stress with subpoenas.
But Smith pushed back on Darline Graham’s assertion.
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Smith → become → assertion
“I believe your brother was a patriotic public servant.
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brother → believe → ?
He was not a target of our investigation, and in fact he likely would have been a witness in our case,” Smith replied, adding that Lindsey Graham did not believe the 2020 election was stolen.
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election → reply → case
Democrats, meanwhile, used Tuesday’s hearing to highlight the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol and accused Trump of inciting the violent mob with false claims of election fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
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Democrats → use → election
Cory Booker, the senator from New Jersey, declared the hearing “a farce”.
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hearing → declare → Jersey
Booker and Delaware’s Chris Coons highlighted that the current administration had fired justice department staffers who worked on Smith’s team.
Despite the partisan divide over Smith’s appointment and prosecutions, Smith said he maintained a nonpartisan approach to the investigations into Trump and that his team had compiled enough evidence to prosecute the president.
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team → highlight → president
“If asked whether to prosecute a former president today, based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith said in his opening statement.
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Smith → ask → statement
The Aporia
