Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar is a Democratic-Farmer-Labor politician in Minnesota and a candidate for governor. She represents Minnesota in the U.S. Senate. A lawyer, she previously held office as Hennepin County attorney.

Democratic candidate for Minnesota governor (2026)

What we have documented

We have documented 8 statements by Amy Klobuchar, in 6 cases. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.

Statements by Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: U.S. Senator, member of the Senate Judiciary Committee

September 29, 2026Condemned

Response to this claim

Sen. Eric Schmitt implied that Jack Smith attended a Golden State Warriors versus Atlanta Hawks NBA game in Atlanta on February 3, 2024, asking Smith whether he had gone to the game and displaying a poster of text messages he described as coming from Smith's team.

“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”

Open sourceLive updates: Jack Smith defends Trump investigations amid grilling from GOP senators · NBC NewsLive blog entry on Sen. Eric Schmitt's exchange with Jack Smith, Sen. Amy Klobuchar's closing remarks and Schmitt's comments outside the hearing room

Why we used this label

Klobuchar explicitly criticizes Schmitt's conduct in making the accusation, calling for an apology rather than simply noting the factual error.

Read statement Full case: Did Jack Smith Attend the Warriors-Hawks Game Eric Schmitt Asked About?

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: U.S. Senator, member of the Senate Judiciary Committee

September 29, 2026Challenged the characterization

Response to this claim

“I think that people should have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag and not get the teams wrong.”

Watch the original videoSen. Klobuchar Clashes with Sen. Schmitt After He Mistakenly Claims Jack Smith Attended NBA Game in Atlanta · C-SPANClip runtime 0:00-7:11. Sen. Schmitt's opening question and the text-message poster exchange run from 0:00-1:35. Jack Smith's Maryland-Iowa clarification and Sen. Klobuchar's on-the-record correction run from approximately 5:20-7:11.

Why we used this label

Klobuchar disputes the accuracy of Schmitt's claim in real time by saying he got the teams wrong, which challenges how Schmitt described the game.

Read statement Full case: Did Jack Smith Attend the Warriors-Hawks Game Eric Schmitt Asked About?

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: U.S. Senator, Minnesota

September 24, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Amy Klobuchar voted yea on H.Con.Res. 89, a vote to direct the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran.

“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 89: A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”

Read the official statementU.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 244: H.Con.Res. 89, Iran War Powers Resolution (rejected, 49-50)

Why we used this label

Voted to direct the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran, a vote to end U.S. involvement absent congressional authorization.

Read statement Full case: Do they support the war in Iran?

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: United States senator for Minnesota, questioning the witness

September 15, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Klobuchar put it to Patel that Justice Department guidance bars FBI agents from conducting investigations inside polling places and gives federal prosecutors no authority to send agents or marshals there, and asked him to commit to following that law and policy. Patel said he was aware of the guidance and that the FBI would always follow the law and the guidelines.

“Are you aware of the Justice Department’s longstanding guidance that states that FBI agents cannot conduct investigations inside polling places on election day and that federal prosecutors have no authority to send FBI special agents or deploy US marshals to polling places?” … “And so will you commit to following clear federal law and DOJ policy and not deploy federal agents to polling places?”

Watch the original videoSenate Judiciary Committee: Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Sept. 15, 2026 hearing video)

Why we used this label

Relative to the FBI having a presence at polling places, Klobuchar asserts as a proposition that existing law and Justice Department guidance forbid it, then asks the director to commit to that limit. An assertion that the conduct under scrutiny would be unlawful is a substantive criticism of it, which is why this is a condemnation rather than a challenge to the characterisation: she is not disputing how the plan has been described, she is saying it may not lawfully happen.

Read statement Full case: Patel questioned on FBI presence at Michigan polling places after John James claim

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: Minnesota DFL gubernatorial candidate, through a campaign spokesperson

September 12, 2026Mixed or conditional

Statement summary

Klobuchar's campaign backed privacy protections.

“privacy is protected”

Open sourceMinnesota candidate reader-policy statementsCandidate statements below the Klobuchar and Demuth photograph

Why we used this label

Relative to continued networked surveillance, a safeguards remedy makes acceptability conditional. This evidence supports a general protection requirement, with no particular retention period or search threshold established.

Read statement Full case: Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: U.S. Senator, Minnesota

June 23, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Amy Klobuchar voted Yea on H.Con.Res. 86, the Senate resolution directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.

“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 86: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”

Read the official statementU.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 184: H.Con.Res. 86, Iran War Powers Resolution (agreed to, 50-48)

Why we used this label

A yea vote supported directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran, opposing continued U.S. involvement in the war without congressional authorization.

Read statement Full case: Do they support the war in Iran?

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: U.S. senator from Minnesota and co-sponsor of the Protect Our Polls Act

June 18, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a co-sponsor of the Protect Our Polls Act, said there are concerns that federal officers could be deployed to polling locations to intimidate voters, and that the bill reiterates that such attempts at voter intimidation are unlawful.

“Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and the freedom to vote is fundamental Yet we continue to see unprecedented attacks on our democracy and on voting rights, as well as concerns that federal officers could be deployed to polling locations to intimidate voters. This legislation reiterates that those attempts at voter intimidation are unlawful and protects Americans’ constitutional right to vote.”

Read the official statementSlotkin Leads Purple State Senators on Bill to Stop Trump from Using Military or Federal Law Enforcement to Interfere with ElectionsPress release of June 18, 2026; each co-sponsor's words follow the bill summary

Why we used this label

The reference point is the administration's stated or threatened use of ICE and other armed federal agents at or near polling places in the 2026 election. Klobuchar said there are concerns that federal officers could be deployed to polling locations to intimidate voters, and that the Protect Our Polls Act reiterates that such attempts at voter intimidation are unlawful. That rejects deploying federal officers to polling places for that purpose, so we labeled it Condemned rather than Mixed or conditional.

Read statement Full case: Should ICE and other armed federal agents be allowed at or near polling places in the 2026 election?

Amy Klobuchar

Role at the time: United States senator for Minnesota

March 3, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Senator Amy Klobuchar said Pretti and Renee Good should still be alive and attributed their deaths to federal agents' actions.

“They should be alive today.”

Read the official statementKlobuchar questions Secretary Noem on ICE actions in Minnesota · Amy KlobucharRough transcript, opening exchange with Secretary Kristi Noem, after Noem confirms she oversaw Operation Metro Surge

Why we used this label

Klobuchar describes Pretti as an innocent citizen whose death resulted from federal agents' conduct. That directly condemns the shooting as unjustified.

Read statement Full case: Were Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP Officer Raymundo Gutierrez justified in fatally shooting Alex Pretti?

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.

Case

Did Jack Smith Attend the Warriors-Hawks Game Eric Schmitt Asked About?

Relationship to this case: Participant

At a September 29 Senate hearing, Sen. Eric Schmitt asked Jack Smith whether he attended a February 2024 Atlanta Hawks game, in questions about Fani Willis. Smith said no and recalled a Maryland-Iowa game; Klobuchar said Schmitt had the teams wrong.

Government Transparency U.S. PoliticsUpdated October 10, 2026

Case