Schmitt tells NBC News it is "up to a prosecutor to determine" whether Smith perjured himself
Eric SchmittU.S. Senator (R-MO), speaking to NBC News outside the hearing room
Asked outside the hearing room whether he still thought Smith had perjured himself after learning the details of the game, Schmitt told NBC News that it was going to be up to a prosecutor to determine and that his job at the hearing was to ask questions and get answers.
Responding to
Sen. Eric Schmitt asserted that Jack Smith had already perjured himself, telling him, "I think you've already perjured yourself," after Smith said he did not go to a Hawks game.
“We’ll find out. That’s going to be up to a prosecutor to determine. My job here today was to ask questions and get answers.”
Reporting
Other statements by Eric Schmitt in this case
- Schmitt defends the poster of text messages and says "I stand by that statement"Same day: Defended or excused
Where this statement fits
Did Jack Smith Attend the Warriors-Hawks Game Eric Schmitt Asked About?
At a September 29, 2026 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his conduct as special counsel, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) asked former special counsel Jack Smith, "Did you go to an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks on February 3rd, 2024?" Schmitt described the date as the day after Fani Willis and Nathan Wade "announced their affair," displayed a poster of text messages he described as coming from Smith's team, and said, "I think you've already perjured yourself." Smith said he definitely did not go to a Hawks game and had no recollection of going to Atlanta. He later said that, if the poster referred to the correct game, he recalled attending a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing around that time, and that the date could be checked. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said Schmitt had the teams wrong and, at the end of her questioning time, that the accusation deserved an apology. Schmitt said "I stand by that statement" without specifying which statement, and told NBC News after the hearing that whether Smith perjured himself would be "up to a prosecutor to determine." The dispute is whether Smith attended the game Schmitt named.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
NBC News live blog entry reporting Schmitt's questions to Smith about the February 3, 2024 game, Klobuchar's closing remarks about the Iowa-Maryland game, and Schmitt's comments to NBC News outside the hearing room.
Before the quotation
During the hearing, Schmitt told Smith, "I think you've already perjured yourself," and Klobuchar said the game was in Maryland and that the accusation deserved an apology, NBC News reported.
After the quotation
As of the evening of September 29, 2026, we did not locate a further statement from Schmitt or his office about the team names.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case tracks whether Smith attended the game Schmitt named. Asked whether he still thought Smith had perjured himself after learning the details of the game, Schmitt neither repeated nor withdrew the claim and said a prosecutor would determine it, which redirects the question, so we labeled it as declining to answer.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Jack Smith
More from this case
Read the full caseDurbin asks Grassley to apologize to Smith
“apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee for the unacceptable personal attacks and false accusations of perjury”Read statement
Klobuchar says Schmitt's accusation and dirtbag remark deserve an apology
“And I would just say, for a U.S. senator to have false information and imply based on a confusion about the name of a team, which I knew, knowing my Midwestern sports, and imply 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”Read statement
Klobuchar says people should have their facts straight before calling someone a dirtbag
“I think that people should have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag and not get the teams wrong.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Schmitt tells NBC News it is "up to a prosecutor to determine" whether Smith perjured himself
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/3302-asked-outside-the-hearing-room-whether-he-still
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Schmitt tells NBC News it is "up to a prosecutor to determine" whether Smith perjured himself". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3302-asked-outside-the-hearing-room-whether-he-still