To All U.S. Senators: Know the Answers to Your Questions Before You Cross-Examine

Before we get too far down the road, let me weigh-in on Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.  Pretty sure most have already seen Missouri Republican Senator, Eric Schmitt, accuse former special counsel, Jack Smith, of committing perjury.  Schmitt maintained Smith lied under oath about attending an Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball game in February 2024, purportedly to collaborate with local prosecutors in a case against Donald Trump. Confused, Smith answered “No!” to Schmitt’s contention. To which Schmitt called him a “villain” and “a total dirtbag”, before claiming he had “a series of text messages” from Smith’s “team” proving Smith was at the NBA game in Atlanta. 

As it turns out, Schmitt had his teams wrong.  Jack Smith was actually 650 miles north in Maryland watching an Iowa Hawkeyes women’s college basketball game on the same night Schmitt insisted he was in Atlanta.

Aside from getting his teams wrong, Schmitt’s planned “gotcha” moment embarrassingly backfired, even before a verifying video showed Smith attending the Iowa game in Maryland.

But Schmitt wasn’t the only buffoon on parade. Resident Heehaw Senator from Louisiana, John Kennedy, always seemingly chewing on something, helped Schmitt hold up his supposed “proof poster” before his own “corn pone” line of questioning about “Easter Bunnies” and “tooth fairies”. Then came newly dubbed Senator, Darline Graham Nordone, from South Carolina, who tried to suggest her brother was one of Jack Smith’s intended targets.  Her deer-in-the-headlights moment came when Smith praised Lindsey Graham as a “patriot” and potential “star witness” in the election subversion case against Donald Trump.  Whoops!

It was a series of colossal mistakes, coughed up on national TV.  Missourians, Louisianans, and folks from South Carolina should be ashamed of such an unprofessional display, let alone trust the brand of representation they are getting.

So much for that oath of office every newly elected U.S. Senator takes to “well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I’m about to enter”.

So, while the Republican plan going into the meeting was to discredit and silence Jack Smith, the opposite happened. They effectively gave Smith a microphone to demonstrate their own irresponsible partisan charade.

Outside the hearing room when asked about his claim that Jack Smith committed perjury, Schmitt responded, sheepishly:

“Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlyn Clark fan?” he said chuckling. “Listen, we had information he was at a ‘Hawks’ basketball game. There was only one NBA game scheduled for that night, which was at 7:30 tip-off, which is why I asked if he was in Atlanta. He answered the question. So, that’s what these hearings are for. You ask questions. You know, Jack Smith has perjured himself before, but if he says he was at the game, we will accept that.”

For the record, Jack Smith has never been formally or criminally charged with perjury.

I have some advice for you, Mr. Schmitt et al. Next time you people cross-examine a witness, especially if you intend to charge them with perjury, know the answers to your questions before you ask them.