How Caitlin Clark became part of viral Jack Smith's Senate hearing
How Caitlin Clark became part of viral Jack Smith's Senate hearing
Aubrey Wright, Aysha Bagchi and Zachary Schermele, Indianapolis StarWed, September 30, 2026 at 2:14 PM UTC
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Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is no stranger to being name-dropped, but it's usually not during a U.S. Senate hearing.
Former special counsel Jack Smith acknowledged he was at a basketball game while he was threatened with perjury during a Sept. 29 hearing. Senators were questioning Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump, and whether Smith conspired with Georgia state prosecutors.
In a heated cross-examination, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, accused Smith of lying about attending a professional basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks. Schmitt was laying his trap: that game was in Georgia in Feb. 3, 2024, and he had texts to prove Smith was there. He even had a poster.
But Smith's alibi was sound. He was at a basketball game, he said, but not that basketball game. He was watching the now-Indiana Fever star dominate on the court with the Iowa Hawkeyes, not the Atlanta Hawks.
"I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing right around that time," Smith said.
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The Hawkeyes won the sold-out game 93-85 in February 2024. Clark, months away from being selected by the Fever as No. 1 draft pick, scored 38 points. Even before Clark shattered WNBA records, she was the memorable main event.
"It was because Caitlin Clark was coming to Maryland to play, that's why we went to the game," Smith told the Senate.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, set the record straight, but not before Schmitt called Smith a "dirtbag" and a "villain." The failed "gotcha" has gone viral.
"That might be the confusion, over the names of the team," Klobuchar said. "Perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully."
Contact IndyStar breaking news reporter Aubrey Wrightat amwright@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Caitlin Clark became part of viral Jack Smith's Senate hearing
Source: “AOL Breaking”
