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Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, led by ranking member Dick Durbin, demanded that Chairman Chuck Grassley apologize to former special counsel Jack Smith for a false accusation of perjury made by Senator Eric Schmitt during a hearing last month. The committee also requested records related to the incident and accused Grassley of violating Senate rules by withholding documents relevant to the event. Democrats characterized Schmitt’s actions as unbecoming of the Senate, citing his erroneous reference to an NBA game instead of a college women's basketball game involving Smith.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Dick Durbin (D-IL), are demanding that Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the committee's chairman, apologize to Jack Smith for a colleague's accusation of perjury during a recent hearing. The incident involved Eric Schmitt (R-MO) mistakenly conflating two sports teams when questioning Smith, leading Democrats to accuse Grassley of violating Senate rules by withholding relevant documents before the hearing. They also request that Grassley provide all withheld records and ensure future compliance with Senate procedures.
Written for “Schmitt Perjury Controversy” on 2026-10-08,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
Democrats aren’t keen to let Senate Republicans forget the incident, and in a letter dated Wednesday, obtained by Politico, ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) led the committee’s Democrats in demanding Grassley apologize and provide records related to the gaffe.
left Highlights Democratic efforts to hold Republicans accountable for political mistakes
-
They concluded with an indictment of all Republican attacks against Smith, saying that all they have managed to do has been to “merely cast petty, personal, and partisan aspersions on” Smith, a “farce” which “culminated in a national embarrassment for the Committee.”
left Describes Republican attacks as petty, personal, and partisan
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 65713 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-08
Claims extracted
12
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 12 hedged
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
72.4
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Senate Judiciary Democrats demanded that Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) apologize to former special counsel Jack Smith on behalf of the committee, after Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) accused him of perjury based on a mix-up of two sports teams.
asserted
Schmitt → demand → teams
Schmitt was caught in the embarrassing gaffe last month during the congressional questioning of Smith, when he accused him of perjury based on a confusion between two sports teams.
asserted
he → catch → teams
Democrats aren’t keen to let Senate Republicans forget the incident, and in a letter dated Wednesday, obtained by Politico, ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) led the committee’s Democrats in demanding Grassley apologize and provide records related to the gaffe.
asserted
Grassley → let → gaffe
In the letter, the committee Democrats accused Grassley of violating Senate rules by failing to provide the records relevant to the hearing ahead of it.
asserted
Democrats → accuse → it
“As of the date of this letter, we still have not received these records.
asserted
we → receive → records
We request that you immediately provide these and all other documents that you have withheld, commit to fully complying with Senate rules in the future, and apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee for the unacceptable personal attacks and false accusations of perjury he faced during this hearing,” they wrote.
asserted
they → request → hearing
They said the texts produced during the hearing “established only that Senator Schmitt had not done the basic due diligence of verifying a document before relying on it.”
asserted
Schmitt → say → it
“Nonetheless, Senator Schmitt incorrectly asserted to Mr. Smith, ‘I think you’ve already perjured yourself,’ and inexcusably branded him ‘a dirtbag,’ language which is beneath the dignity of this Committee and the Senate,” the Democrats continued.
asserted
Democrats → assert → Committee
They concluded with an indictment of all Republican attacks against Smith, saying that all they have managed to do has been to “merely cast petty, personal, and partisan aspersions on” Smith, a “farce” which “culminated in a national embarrassment for the Committee.”
asserted
which → conclude → Committee
During the Sept. 29 hearing, Schmitt displayed text messages from Smith’s team, putting him at a “Hawks” game on Feb. 3, 2024, which Schmitt believed to be an NBA game in Atlanta between the Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors.
asserted
Schmitt → display → Hawks
Instead, Smith revealed he was actually at the University of Maryland on that day, attending a women’s basketball game between the Terrapins and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.
asserted
he → reveal → Iowa
Schmitt has maintained that no error was made.
asserted
error → maintain → ?
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