Politicians from both parties had a rough week as slip-ups and unpopular messaging sent floods of unwanted attention their way. Chief among this week’s gaffes was Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt’s botched attempt to accuse former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury during Tuesday’s Senate testimony — a basketball mix-up that unraveled as cameras captured the stunned reaction of Republican Alabama Sen.
Katie Britt seated beside him. Britt was seated beside Schmitt as he pressed Smith over whether he attended an Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024, pointing to text messages he said showed Smith had been there. When Smith denied attending the NBA game, Schmitt accused him of lying under oath.
Schmitt had apparently mistaken references to the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Atlanta Hawks, overlooking that Smith had attended the Iowa-Maryland women’s college basketball game that night rather than the NBA game in Atlanta. As the situation unfolded, and Schmitt's mistake became apparent, a pool camera zoomed in on Britt's face, revealing her shocked expression. JACK SMITH'S TRUMP PROBE SWEPT UP FOX NEWS, OTHER MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS AS INVESTIGATION WENT BEYOND LAWMAKERS "Sen.
Katie Britt — a former congressional staffer herself — knew she was watching a mythical staff f*ck up," one MSNOW reporter wrote. "The type of f*ck up that interns will hear about as a cautionary tale on their first day of work on June 1, 2047." "[Britt] opposes abortion and yet Schmitt just aborted his 2028 VP odds on live TV," a liberal YouTuber quipped. Schmitt’s exchange quickly became one of the most viral moments of the Smith hearing, drowning out much of the rest of the day’s events.
KLOBUCHAR'S NFL POST BACKFIRES WHEN INTERNET NOTICES GLARING PROBLEM WITH HER OUTFIT CHOICE: 'FRAUD RUNS DEEP' The Missouri senator attempted to defuse tensions with a tongue-in-cheek response to the controversy. "Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?" Schmitt posted to X shortly after the hearing wrapped, referencing the fact that Clark was playing for Iowa in the game Smith attended. His post drew another wave of negative responses.
"Any person who had a modicum of decency would apologize, immediately, and then impose some basic accountability for some remarkably negligent staff work," New York Times columnist David French wrote. "He was trying to set up a perjury trap with fake information. Pitiful." "When I talk about how the quality of congressional staff used to be so much higher I feel 70 years old…but this is a good example," one former congressional staffer posted.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
