‘He’s Basically Disgraced Himself’: Raskin Flames Republican Senator Behind Viral Blunder on Live TV
Schmitt accused Smith of perjury based on a mistaken inference about which basketball game Smith attended.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYMediaite is an established political and media news outlet, but this short article provides limited sourcing beyond a hearing account and excerpts from a CNN segment. The author is identified, while the article offers little independent verification or additional response from Schmitt.
- Source type — An established niche outlet covering politics and media, rather than a major newspaper of record or wire service.
- Editorial standards — The story reports identifiable events and quotes, but its brief format leaves limited room for verification and context.
- Author attribution — The article identifies its author.
The article gives specific details about the hearing and the mistaken identification of the basketball game, and includes excerpts from the CNN exchange. It offers little independent sourcing or context and does not include a substantive response from Schmitt to Raskin’s criticism.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article recounts Schmitt’s hearing statements and includes his brief reply to a reporter, alongside Raskin’s criticism. It does not provide Schmitt’s response to that criticism or other perspectives, and the narration is loaded.
- Loaded language — The headline and narration characterize the episode in openly disparaging terms.
- Source diversity — The story relies on the hearing, a CNN segment, and Raskin’s remarks, with few perspectives.
- Counterarguments presented — Schmitt’s remarks from the hearing and a short post-hearing answer appear, but he does not address Raskin’s criticism.
The article uses disparaging language in its headline and narration and centers a Democratic lawmaker’s condemnation of a Republican senator. It reports the underlying mistake and Schmitt’s remarks, but does not include a substantive countervailing perspective.
- Language tone — The headline and narrative use strongly negative descriptions of Schmitt’s conduct.
- Framing — The story is framed around Raskin’s criticism and the senator’s embarrassing error.
- Source selection — Raskin’s extensive criticism is quoted; no substantive response from Schmitt is included.
After Sen. Eric Schmitt mistakenly tied former special counsel Jack Smith to an Atlanta basketball game, Rep. Jamie Raskin criticized Schmitt on CNN, calling the episode humiliating. The incident followed Schmitt’s questioning of Smith about prosecutions of Donald Trump.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Schmitt suggested Smith had secretly met with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and accused him of perjury after Smith denied being in Atlanta. The article says the text messages Schmitt cited pointed to an Atlanta Hawks game, but Smith had attended an Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball game in Maryland that day. Smith had brought two cases against Trump after he left office and withdrew the charges after Trump won the 2024 election, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting incumbent presidents.
On CNN, Jamie Raskin said Schmitt was unlikely to apologize and accused him of humiliating himself by making what Raskin called a stunt to serve Trump. Schmitt, asked by a reporter whether Smith had perjured himself, replied, “We’ll find out.”
Community verdict
7 VOTESPeople in this story
SWIPE →Senator criticized for his mistaken allegation about Jack Smith
Representative criticizing Eric Schmitt’s conduct
Raskin's version of this story ↗Subject of the prosecutions discussed at the hearing
Part of a bigger story
12 OUTLETSFormer special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his investigations of Donald Trump. Eric Schmitt questioned him about an alleged Atlanta basketball-game visit; Smith said he attended a different game. Left-leaning outlets portray Schmitt’s questioning as a failed attack built on an apparent mix-up, and stress that he continued defending his accusation. Center outlets focus on the basketball-game discrepancy while also covering the broader hearing about Smith’s investigations and subpoenas. Right-leaning outlets emphasize Republican challenges to Smith over his Trump investigations, while also recounting the disputed basketball-game allegation.
- ARTICLES
- 16
- OUTLETS
- 12
- AVG CRED
- 69
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