Senator Eric Schmitt accused former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury at today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, saying Smith lied about attending an Atlanta Hawks game on February 3, 2024. Once Democrats pushed for Smith to see the texts Schmitt was holding up, Smith said he remembered going to see Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes play at Maryland around then. That game was played the same night Steph Curry scored 60 in Atlanta. Senator Amy Klobuchar later said the date and score of the game Smith described were confirmed, and that Smith deserved an apology.

The basketball mix-up is the funny part, but it isn't the most important part. Republicans had six months to prepare for this hearing. Todd Blanche, Trump's former lawyer who now runs the Justice Department as attorney general, publicly called Smith "a proven liar" back in March. In July, Jim Jordan sent the department a criminal referral against Smith, and the department said it was reviewing it. We break down what perjury actually requires under a 1973 Supreme Court ruling, why Schmitt's other attacks on Smith's record don't hold up, and what it means when a senator's accusation can become the opening line of a prosecution.

The Senate majority that runs hearings like this one starts getting decided on November 3. In Georgia and Florida, the deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 5, so check your registration on your state's election website today. Subscribe to keep up with what the Justice Department does with the Smith referral, and tell us in the comments whether Schmitt should make the full text thread public.

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