Schmitt tells NBC News it is "up to a prosecutor to determine" whether Smith perjured himself
U.S. Senator (R-MO), speaking to NBC News outside the hearing room
“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.”
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
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.
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
Did Jack Smith Attend the Warriors-Hawks Game Eric Schmitt Asked About?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“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
“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
“I presented him with text messages about him wanting to meet with people that could have obviously been related to the prosecution that was coordinated with his office in Atlanta. ... I stand by that statement.”Read statement