Fireworks as MAGA senator hurls 'dirtbag' slur at Jack Smith — then gets schooled
Schmitt questioned Jack Smith about an Atlanta basketball game and called him a “dirtbag” before Klobuchar challenged his account.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYRaw Story is an established digital news outlet that publishes named, bylined reporting, though its political coverage is often framed from a clear perspective. The article identifies its author and reports an identifiable public hearing, but the available text does not establish its correction practices.
- Source type — An established digital news outlet, though its political coverage can be strongly framed.
- Author attribution — The article names an author.
- Editorial standards — The report describes a public hearing and attributes statements to participants; the text gives limited evidence of broader verification.
- Correction history — No correction-practice information is evident in the article.
The article gives specific questions and answers from a public hearing and explains the apparent team-name confusion. It offers useful direct quotations, but gives little independent detail about the messages Schmitt displayed or additional context from Smith.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes Schmitt's questions and his explanation of the text messages, as well as Smith's denials and Klobuchar's correction. However, it does not provide further examination of the messages or a fuller account of Schmitt's basis for his claim.
- Counterarguments presented — Schmitt's explanation and objections are quoted, alongside Smith's denials and Klobuchar's challenge.
- Source diversity — The account draws chiefly on statements from the hearing participants.
- Loaded language — The headline uses a dismissive phrase to characterize the exchange.
- Omitted context — The article does not independently detail or assess the text messages Schmitt displayed.
The report's framing is unfavorable to Schmitt, emphasizing his insult and apparent factual error; the headline's “gets schooled” wording is especially loaded. The article does include his statements, but gives Klobuchar's correction the final word.
- Headline — The phrase “gets schooled” frames Schmitt as having been decisively corrected.
- Language tone — The headline foregrounds the insult and describes the accusation as false.
- Framing — The account centers on Schmitt's apparent mistake and Klobuchar's rebuttal.
At a Senate hearing, Eric Schmitt called former special counsel Jack Smith a “dirtbag” while questioning him about an Atlanta basketball game. Amy Klobuchar said Schmitt had confused the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes, and challenged him to get his facts straight.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Schmitt asked Smith whether he had attended an Atlanta Hawks game in February 2024 or met Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis there. Smith said he had done neither. Schmitt showed text messages he said supported his claim and called Smith a “dirtbag.”
Klobuchar said Schmitt appeared to have confused the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes, a game Smith acknowledged attending around that time. She told Schmitt he should have his facts straight before making the accusation. Schmitt objected to her intervention and said the messages could relate to coordination with his office in Atlanta.
Community verdict
4 VOTESPeople in this story
SWIPE →Senator who questioned Jack Smith and accused him of undermining public trust.
Senator who challenged Schmitt's account during the hearing.
Klobuchar's version of this story ↗Subject of the Justice Department investigations Smith led.
Part of a bigger story
21 OUTLETSAt a Senate Judiciary hearing, Eric Schmitt questioned Jack Smith over whether Smith had attended an Atlanta Hawks game. The exchange turned on a mix-up with an Iowa Hawkeyes game Smith said he attended. Left-leaning outlets treat the mix-up as a failed political gotcha and, in some coverage, part of a broader Republican effort to target Smith. Center outlets likewise stress the error and its fallout for Schmitt, with some highlighting the exchange’s viral reactions. Right-leaning outlets also emphasize the accusation’s collapse, with attention to Katie Britt’s viral reaction and, in one column, Schmitt’s political ambitions.
- ARTICLES
- 39
- OUTLETS
- 21
- AVG CRED
- 68
- RadarOnline · Jimmy Kimmel Roasts 'Dumb' Sen. Eric Schmitt After He Accidentally Exposed Jack Smith as a Caitlin Clark Fan in Attempted Takedown
- Alternet.org · The ominous 3-word warning everyone missed in the chaotic Jack Smith hearing
- The New Republic · Eric Schmitt’s a Joke. The Assaults on Jack Smith Are Anything But.
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