Fox News Reports GOP Senator Has Yet to Respond After Viral Gaffe: ‘We’ve Not Heard Back’
Schmitt made an incorrect claim about Jack Smith’s whereabouts during a hearing and had not responded to Fox News’ request for comment.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYMediaite is an established digital news outlet with named authors and original political and media coverage. Its reporting here relies substantially on a Fox News broadcast, and the article provides limited sourcing beyond that account.
- Source type — An established digital news publisher covering politics and media.
- Editorial standards — The piece reports a specific event and attributes key details to Fox News, but does not offer extensive independent corroboration.
- Author attribution — The article names its author.
- Transparency — The article identifies the broadcast and anchor supplying the account.
The article gives concrete details and quotes from the hearing and Fox News broadcast, while distinguishing the network’s account from Schmitt’s allegation. It is brief and relies heavily on Fox’s explanation, with no direct response from Schmitt or independent verification presented.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article provides Fox News’s account of the correction and reports Schmitt’s allegation and later social media post. It does not include a substantive response from Schmitt or his office, leaving the critical perspective dominant.
- Counterarguments presented — Schmitt’s allegation is included, but no explanation from him addressing the correction is reported.
- Source diversity — The article relies chiefly on the Fox News account and includes Klobuchar’s criticism.
- Loaded language — The headline and opening use negative terms such as “gaffe” and “flub.”
- Omitted context — The article does not provide Schmitt’s response to the reported error.
The report is mostly factual, but its framing emphasizes Schmitt’s mistake and the criticism it drew. It does not present a response or explanation from Schmitt.
- Language tone — The headline and opening describe the incident as a gaffe and flub, framing it negatively for Schmitt.
- Source selection — The account relies on Fox News reporting and includes Klobuchar’s criticism, without Schmitt’s explanation.
- Framing — The story centers on the factual error and the lack of a response.
Fox News reported that Sen. Eric Schmitt had not responded after incorrectly claiming during a Senate hearing that former special counsel Jack Smith was in Atlanta. Sen. Amy Klobuchar pointed out the error and said Schmitt owed Smith an apology.
During Jack Smith’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Schmitt alleged that Smith had secretly traveled to Atlanta and lied about his whereabouts. Fox News reported that the messages Schmitt cited referred to an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland, not an Atlanta Hawks game in Georgia. Schmitt also called Smith a “total dirtbag.”
Klobuchar highlighted the mistaken team reference and said the episode deserved an apology. Fox News said it had not received a response from Schmitt’s office; Schmitt later posted on social media about former Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark.
Community verdict
5 VOTES
People in this story
SWIPE →Senator whose mistaken allegation and lack of response are the story’s focus
Senator who challenged Schmitt’s claim during the hearing
President whose investigations were mentioned as background to Smith’s testimony
Part of a bigger story
8 OUTLETSAt a Senate hearing, Eric Schmitt accused Jack Smith of perjury over an alleged Atlanta Hawks game, but the texts did not place Smith in Atlanta and he was reported to have attended a different game. Left-leaning outlets cast the questioning as a failed political gotcha and stress the error’s political fallout. Center outlets also focus on the mistaken claim and Klobuchar’s correction, with some noting Schmitt’s defense of his questioning.
- ARTICLES
- 9
- OUTLETS
- 8
- AVG CRED
- 64
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