Smith’s game-day texts reviewed by Schmitt never referenced basketball team names

Smith’s Game-Day Texts Did Not Name Basketball Teams

Provpnadvice.com – Smith’s game-day texts reviewed by Sen. Eric Schmitt did not identify the Atlanta Hawks, the Iowa Hawkeyes or any other basketball team. The messages instead focused on seating arrangements and meeting plans for Feb. 3, 2024, the date at the center of a Senate Judiciary Committee exchange involving former special counsel Jack Smith.

Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, questioned Smith about whether he attended an Atlanta Hawks game. The senator raised the issue while discussing an effort to link Smith to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her prosecution of President Trump. Smith said he recalled attending a University of Maryland women’s basketball game in which Iowa star Caitlin Clark played.

The confrontation drew attention after Schmitt accused Smith of perjury and used an insult against him. But the available Smith’s game-day texts do not show that a team name led directly to the dispute.

Texts centered on seats and logistics

The Justice Department material includes messages among Smith’s staff from July 2023 through May 2024. While individual exchanges are presented chronologically, the larger set of documents includes messages from different periods.

Only a limited number of messages concern the day of the basketball outing. They discuss where people were seated, whether there was room for another person and how staff members could meet inside the arena.

Prosecutor JP Cooney asked about joining others after a discussion of a seat in row 109 reserved for Smith. He later described his own location.

“We are in 201. High; but center court. I will swing down at half to say hello,”

Neither “Hawks” nor “Hawkeyes” appears in the messages at issue. That detail is important because the two similarly named teams became central to the public debate over Smith’s game-day texts.

Two basketball games took place on Feb. 3

Feb. 3, 2024, included both an Atlanta Hawks game and Iowa’s women’s game against Maryland. Smith told senators that he remembered attending Maryland’s game when Clark played for Iowa and suggested confirming whether it was held on the date Schmitt cited.

“If this is the correct basketball game, I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing right around that time. … You could check if that was the exact date it was Maryland playing Iowa, I think February of 2024,” Smith said.

The same-day schedule helps explain the confusion. The messages pointed to a date and arena logistics, rather than naming an opponent, team or event. A search for basketball games held that evening could therefore have produced more than one possible answer.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, suggested that the controversy could have involved confusion between “Hawks” and “Hawkeyes.” The texts do not establish that conclusion. They show only that the event may have been identified from limited logistical information.

A later message mentioned Caitlin Clark

Separate records show that Smith’s staff followed Iowa basketball. In late March, weeks after the Maryland outing, prosecutor David Harbach sent a message about a Clark game scheduled for television.

“P.s. Caitlin Clark on tonight at 8pm on ESPN,”

Schmitt’s office said the senator did not receive messages mentioning Clark. A spokesperson said Schmitt would not have needed to ask Smith which game he attended if those texts had been included in the materials he reviewed.

The dispute involved more than a sporting event. Schmitt presented his question as context for concerns involving Willis, whose Fulton County office pursued an election-interference case against Trump. Smith’s special counsel work concerned separate federal prosecutions of Trump.

FAQ: What the Texts Show

Did Smith’s game-day texts identify the Atlanta Hawks?

No. The reviewed messages did not include the words “Hawks” or “Hawkeyes.” They addressed seats, sections and plans to meet at the arena.

What game did Jack Smith say he attended?

Smith said he recalled attending the University of Maryland women’s basketball game in which Caitlin Clark played for Iowa.

Why did the basketball-game question become controversial?

Two games occurred on the same date, and the available messages did not name either team. The uncertainty became part of a broader Senate dispute involving Smith, Schmitt and questions about Fani Willis.