A Senate hearing on Tuesday hinged on a Hawks Hawkeyes mix-up that involved Iowa star Caitlin Clark. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., questioned former Special Counsel Jack Smith about a basketball game in early 2024. The team name in the text messages he displayed did not point to the game he thought it did, according to The Athletic.
Schmitt suggested Smith had lied about attending an Atlanta Hawks game. Smith said he was at a Maryland game to see Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said the texts likely referred to Iowa’s nickname and told Schmitt to check his facts first.
What Happened in the Hawks Hawkeyes Mix-Up
The Judiciary Committee hearing ran about four hours. During his questioning, Schmitt tried to suggest that Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024, meeting with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Willis was pursuing election fraud charges against Donald Trump at the time. Smith had been appointed Special Counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee investigations involving Trump.
Schmitt displayed text messages from Smith’s security detail. The messages discussed seating for a “Hawks” game. He then asked Smith whether he went to an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks on that date.
Schmitt’s line of questioning
Smith first asked what city the game was in. When Schmitt said Atlanta, Smith answered no. Schmitt then asked him to confirm that he had not attended a Hawks game that day. Smith said he had no recollection of it and was sure he did not go to a Hawks game.
Schmitt asked what Smith would say if he had messages placing him at a Warriors-Hawks game. Smith looked briefly at the texts, which were printed on a poster board. He said they had been taken down too quickly for him to read. Schmitt said Smith could review them later and added that he believed Smith had already perjured himself.
As his time ran short, Schmitt accused Smith of weaponizing the Department of Justice against political enemies. He also used a harsh insult against the witness.
Where Smith Actually Was
According to The Athletic, Smith was not in Atlanta that night. He was in College Park, Maryland. There he watched Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Maryland Terrapins 93-85. Clark scored 38 points in that game.
In Atlanta, the Warriors and Hawks played the same night. Steph Curry scored 60 points in an overtime game, the report says. The two games happened on the same date, which helps explain why the shorthand in the texts could be misread.
Klobuchar Steps In With the Texts
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., was the next committee member scheduled to question Smith. She asked a staff member to hold up the poster board so Smith could read the messages.
In the texts, one of Smith’s deputies told another that a seat had been saved for Smith in section 109. The messages did not mention Atlanta or any other location.
Smith then said he recalled attending a University of Maryland basketball game around that time. He said Caitlin Clark was playing and that the U.S. Marshals Service was with him. He told the committee it could be checked, since the game was Maryland against Iowa.
Klobuchar asked whether the “Hawks” in the texts could mean the Iowa Hawkeyes. She told Schmitt the naming confusion was understandable but said he should have looked more carefully. In her view, people should have their facts straight before making accusations.
Why Smith Was Testifying
Smith’s appearance followed an invitation from Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. The committee published a statement in which Grassley said Smith had asked to testify. Grassley said the committee would hear from him as part of its review of Operation Arctic Frost and his time as Special Counsel. The committee’s release on the invitation gives the chairman’s full statement.
The exchange over the texts was one small part of a long hearing. It drew attention because it was easy to check, and because it involved one of college basketball’s best-known players.
What Remains Unclear
Republican Senate committee spokespersons did not immediately return emails seeking comment, The Athletic reported. It is not yet known whether Schmitt will follow up on the texts or address the team-name confusion publicly.
The exchange also does not settle the wider disputes about Smith’s investigations. Those questions were part of the same hearing and remain contested along party lines. This article covers only the moment involving the game, the texts and the two senators’ remarks.
Hearing details are based on reporting by The Athletic (Joe Vardon, Sept. 29, 2026).
