Joe Scarborough Torches 'Lying' GOP Senator Over Embarrassing Gaffe at Jack Smith Hearing
Joe Scarborough called out Eric Schmitt during an episode of 'Morning Joe.'
Sept. 30 2026, Published 5:20 p.m. ET
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough has torched Eric Schmitt, turning the senator's own insult back on him after a Senate Judiciary Committee exchange with former special counsel Jack Smith collapsed over a mix-up between the Atlanta Hawks and the Iowa Hawkeyes, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Schmitt asked Smith whether he attended a February 3, 2024, game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks.
'You Will Go Down as a Total Dirtbag'
During a Senate Judiciary Committee exchange, Schmitt branded Smith a 'total dirtbag.'
The date was one day after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis publicly acknowledged a relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, who worked on her separate state case against Trump. Schmitt's implication was that Smith had been in Atlanta coordinating with Willis.
Smith said he had not gone to a Hawks game, but Schmitt pressed anyway, citing text messages from Smith's team and a poster displayed in the hearing room.
"I'll give you a second to process it so you don't, you know, perjure yourself," Schmitt said.
He later added, "I think you've already perjured yourself," while also calling Smith "the villain," and said, "You will go down as a total dirtbag."
Eric Schmitt's Fumble Exposed
Smith had been at a college game in Maryland.
Smith then recalled the game his staff had been discussing. It was Iowa against Maryland in College Park, Maryland, a women's college basketball game featuring Iowa star Caitlin Clark.
Iowa's team is the Hawkeyes, not the Hawks. "It was because Caitlin Clark was coming to Maryland to play, and so we went to the game," Smith clarified.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who questioned Smith next, checked the schedule and said Iowa did play Maryland on February 3, 2024.
"I think people should have their facts straight before they accuse people of being a 'dirtbag' and not get the teams wrong," she said.
Joe Scarborough Uses Eric Schmitt's Insult Against Him
Scarborough didn't pull his punches when commenting on the gaffe.
On Wednesday's show, Scarborough said, "You want to talk about dirtbags? I would say this is the definition of a dirtbag: you call somebody a dirtbag, and then you're caught lying, caught just making a fool of yourself in front of the world, and then you go on right-wing talk shows afterwards and act like nothing happened, still act like you got 'em."
"That's a dirtbag," the MS NOW personality said. "A guy who gets caught lying and still lies afterwards, thinking that there's no such thing as videotape."
Eric Schmitt Won't Admit Defeat
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Schmitt refuses to walk it back his comments.
Some conservative outlets treated the exchange as a win even after the teams were sorted out.
"I asked him if he was in Atlanta. He said he was not in Atlanta," Schmitt said afterwards.
Smith told the committee he still stands by the Trump cases and that his office developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the president committed serious crimes.
