GOP senator bungles accusation against former special counsel Jack Smith in heated hearing

WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday defended before a U.S. Senate panel his past investigations of President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents and alleged role in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Judiciary Committee Republicans repeatedly dissected Smith’s work and accused him of weaponizing the Department of Justice. In a heated exchange, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., labeled Smith a “total dirtbag” and alleged he had perjured himself when Schmitt asked if Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024, during a separate sensitive election investigation development in Fulton County, Georgia. Smith said he was not there.

But it became clear Schmitt had bungled the accusations against Smith by mixing up the names of the Atlanta Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes basketball teams, and the back-and-forth went viral on social media. Smith had attended a University of Maryland Terrapins game against the Hawkeyes, not a Hawks game, on the date in question.

Smith said in his opening statement he “will not be silenced” by threats, including Trump’s calls for his prosecution.

“I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump,” Smith said. “I made those decisions without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.”

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation,” Smith said.

Grassley: not ‘normal prosecution’

The hearing comes nearly two years after committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, alleged the former special counsel improperly collected phone records of dozens of members of Congress during his probe of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The insurrection followed Trump’s alleged conspiracy to create fake electors to swing the 2020 presidential election in his favor.

Smith denies any wrongdoing.

In his opening remarks, Grassley argued Smith’s investigation “ultimately wasn't just about Trump.”

“It was about partisan agents and prosecutors mapping out the Republican apparatus,” Grassley said.

“This wasn't a normal prosecution by any means. Yet today, you will certainly hear from Democrats that it was. Importantly, Mr. Smith has claimed his focus was on January 6, but his own conduct contradicts that,” Grassley said moments later, citing subpoenas for records before and after the date of Jan. 6, 2021, and those that included Republican interest groups.

Durbin says ‘nothing untoward’

Democrats dismissed the hearing’s premise and repeatedly evoked memories of evacuating the U.S. Senate while a mob of Trump supporters violently overran law enforcement and attacked the U.S. Capitol.

Ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said attacks on Smith “are nothing but a smokescreen to distract from the president's own clear unlawful conduct.”

“Let me be clear: there was nothing untoward about special counsel Smith and his fellow prosecutors conducting this investigation. The aspersions cast on Mr. Smith nonstop are petty, personal, and political,” Durbin said.

Sen. Cory Booker, who is speculated to be eyeing a presidential run in 2028, said the hearing amounted to “gaslighting the American people.”

The New Jersey Democrat said the scenario “should be chilling to every American that the commander-in-chief … did everything he could to undermine the legal transfer of power, incited a riot, which several Republicans said he did, and we're now persecuting the prosecutors who followed the evidence.”

Kennedy, Cruz attack Smith

But Senate Republicans maintained accusations that the Biden administration targeted Trump for prosecution just days after he announced he would challenge then-President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, asked Smith if he told then-Attorney General Merrick Garland that he intended to prosecute the former president.

“I did so twice,” Smith answered.

“And the attorney general checked with President Biden. Is that right?” Kennedy asked.

“I have absolutely no idea,” Smith said, adding that he made an “independent decision” to prosecute.

“I made that decision on my own, consulting with my staff and reviewing the incredibly strong evidence that we had,” he said.

Kennedy also accused Smith of partisanship for only seeking phone records of Republicans during his investigation.

“The toll records that we sought were relevant to the investigation,” Smith told Kennedy, referring to historical logs that reveal time and duration of calls rather than content.

“Were you in the quad playing frisbee during (constitutional) law at Harvard Law School?” Kennedy asked, accusing Smith of violating the speech and debate clause that protects members of Congress.

“You make me want to throw up in my mouth,” Kennedy said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is widely considered a potential 2028 Republican presidential candidate, also attacked non-disclosure orders Smith obtained to keep the phone record subpoenas confidential.

Smith maintains he sought the orders in compliance with the law.

“Let me say congratulations, because you have succeeded where Richard Nixon failed, which is weaponizing the Department of Justice and the federal government to go after your political opponents,” Cruz said.

Details on the ‘dirtbag’ back-and-forth

The viral exchange with Schmitt came about when he falsely accused Smith of being in Atlanta when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was prosecuting Trump on a separate election conspiracy case, admitted she had a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor. 

As his proof, Schmitt’s aide briefly displayed a large poster containing alleged texts between staff members about Smith’s attendance at an NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors.

Smith said he could not recall going to an NBA game in Atlanta, or even visiting the city during his time as special prosecutor.

“I don’t think you know that we have this stuff, so I’ll give you a moment to process it so you don’t perjure yourself,” Schmitt said.

“You just took it down really quick, if I could look at that again,” Smith said. 

When Durbin requested Schmitt provide Smith with a copy of the alleged texts, the Missouri Republican moved on to his next question and said “I think you’ve already perjured yourself.”

Wrapping up his questioning, Schmitt said, “You may think you’re a hero in this story, but let me tell you something, you’re a villain. … You will go down as a total dirtbag.”

Booker, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., prodded Schmitt to display the poster board again and provide a copy.

Smith said he recalled being at a University of Maryland women’s basketball game against the University of Iowa to see the popular Iowa player Caitlin Clark.

“Could it be the Iowa Hawkeyes then … Perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully?” Klobuchar said to Schmitt. 

Schmitt criticized Klobuchar for interjecting before being officially called on for questioning.

“I’m gonna begin my questioning now, but I think that people should have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag," Klobuchar said.

How the Trump cases turned out

Trump fought Smith’s prosecutions and claimed in court he was entitled to presidential immunity for any of his actions surrounding the 2020 election.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in early 2024.

Smith dropped the election conspiracy case after Trump won the presidential election in November 2024.

Months prior, a Florida federal judge dismissed Smith’s case alleging Trump hoarded sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021. 

Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case in July 2024 on the grounds that the Biden administration illegally appointed Smith.