Senate Democrats demand apology for GOP's Jack Smith stumble
Schmitt questioned Jack Smith about an alleged trip to Atlanta and later said he had misunderstood the information he received.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Thenationaldesk, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The National Desk is an established news operation with an attributed reporter, but the article offers limited independent sourcing and relies heavily on the competing accounts of the hearing participants.
- Source type — A national news operation, though not a major wire service or newspaper of record.
- Author attribution — A reporter is named and the article provides contact information.
- Editorial standards — The piece attributes partisan claims and includes Schmitt's response, but provides little independent corroboration.
- Transparency — The article identifies its sources for the letter and quotes, and notes that Grassley had not responded.
The article gives a clear account of the exchange, quotes both the Democrats' letter and Schmitt's explanation, and notes Grassley's lack of response. It offers limited sourcing beyond participants' accounts and little additional context.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article presents the Democrats' allegations and Schmitt's response, but does not include a response from Grassley or a broader Republican account of the committee's handling of the records.
- Counterarguments presented — Schmitt explains why he asked about Atlanta; Grassley did not respond to the request for comment.
- Source diversity — The account relies mainly on the Democrats' letter and Schmitt's comments.
- Loaded language — Some critical descriptions are used, though major accusations are attributed to the letter's authors.
The report uses some critical phrasing about Schmitt's questioning but includes his explanation and attributes the strongest accusations to Democrats. Overall, it does not clearly favor a political side.
- Source selection — The article includes Democrats' criticism and Schmitt's own explanation, while noting Grassley did not respond.
- Language tone — Terms such as “failed attack” and “gotcha gaffe” frame Schmitt's conduct negatively.
- Framing — The story centers the Democratic demand but attributes its claims and provides the underlying account of Schmitt's questioning.
Republished
Republished from The Nation. The relationship between the two publishers has not been determined.
121 stories · 64–66 · updated Oct 13, 2026
This is The Nation's own score, and this article is credited to The Nation. The host score in the Source Check is Thenationaldesk's.
Senate Democrats urged Chuck Grassley to apologize to Jack Smith after Eric Schmitt wrongly placed Smith in Atlanta and suggested he committed perjury. Schmitt said he asked about Atlanta because he had information Smith attended a basketball game.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats asked Chair Chuck Grassley to apologize to former special counsel Jack Smith on behalf of Eric Schmitt and the committee. At a hearing, Schmitt questioned Smith about being in Atlanta in February 2024; Smith was actually in Maryland, and Schmitt later said he had relied on information that Smith attended a basketball game.
In a letter led by Ranking Member Dick Durbin, Democrats said Republicans had ambushed Smith, violated Senate rules by not sharing committee records with the minority, and falsely accused him of perjury. Schmitt described the exchange as a misunderstanding and defended asking the question. Grassley had not publicly responded to the claims or the request for an apology.
Community verdict
12 VOTES
Counts every outlet’s report of this story. See all 4
Votes cast on this page
Votes cast on this page: ▲ 0 · ◆ 0 · ▼ 0
People in this story
SWIPE →Senator whose questioning of Jack Smith prompted Democrats to seek an apology
Senate Judiciary Committee chair asked to apologize on Schmitt's behalf
President whose 2020 election case was the context for the questioning
Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat who led the letter seeking an apology
Part of a bigger story
4 OUTLETSSenate Democrats sought an apology to Jack Smith after Eric Schmitt questioned him about a basketball game and accused him of perjury. Left-leaning outlets portray Schmitt’s questioning as a misstep while including his explanation; center outlets share the critical focus but give more attention to records requests, the accuracy of the material, and official responses.
- ARTICLES
- 4
- OUTLETS
- 4
- AVG CRED
- 76
Discussion · 0
Loading comments…