The “Hidden” Text Messages: What Eric Schmitt Actually Revealed in the Jack Smith Hearing

A dramatic Senate confrontation over alleged text messages involving former special counsel Jack Smith quickly became one of the most discussed moments of a September 29, 2026, Judiciary Committee hearing.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., confronted Smith with what he described as a series of messages from Smith’s team that supposedly placed the former special counsel in Atlanta at an Atlanta Hawks–Golden State Warriors basketball game on February 3, 2024.

Schmitt suggested the messages could contradict Smith’s testimony and warned him about potentially committing perjury.

But the exchange soon took an unexpected turn: the basketball reference appeared to concern the Iowa Hawkeyes, not the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. Smith said he had attended an Iowa women's basketball game against Maryland that day, where Caitlin Clark was playing. Sen. Amy Klobuchar then confirmed the Maryland game took place on February 3, 2024.

The incident has since been widely circulated online, including in graphics claiming that Schmitt exposed a hidden Capitol Hill conspiracy.

However, the available evidence does not establish the more dramatic claims in the viral graphic — including that the messages were “classified,” that officials tried to conceal them, or that they prove a broader cover-up.

 

 

 

What Schmitt Actually Presented

During the hearing, Schmitt questioned Smith about his whereabouts on February 3, 2024.

The senator specifically asked whether Smith had attended an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta.

Smith said he had not.

Schmitt then connected the alleged trip to the controversy surrounding former Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and prosecutor Nathan Wade.

According to CNN's transcript, Schmitt told Smith that he had “a series of text messages” from Smith's team that supposedly placed him in Atlanta at the Warriors-Hawks game.

A staff member briefly displayed a poster containing text messages.

Smith asked to see it again after it was quickly removed.

Schmitt then told him:

“I’ll give you a second to process it, so you don’t … perjure yourself.”

Schmitt subsequently said he believed Smith had already perjured himself.

Then Came the Hawks–Hawkeyes Problem

Smith's response changed the direction of the exchange.

He said he was certain he had not attended an Atlanta Hawks game.

But he did remember attending a basketball game around that time.

It was a University of Iowa women's basketball game against Maryland.

That distinction was critical.

Iowa's women's team is known as the Hawkeyes. The Atlanta NBA team is the Hawks.

And the two events took place roughly 650 miles apart.

Smith said he had traveled to Maryland to watch Iowa star Caitlin Clark play against the Maryland Terrapins.

Klobuchar then checked the date and confirmed that Iowa played Maryland on February 3, 2024, in College Park, Maryland.

She suggested that the reference in the messages may have been to the Hawkeyes, rather than the Hawks.

The Alleged “Smoking Gun” Changed Meaning

This is the central issue behind the viral story.

Schmitt's questioning treated the messages as evidence that Smith had been in Atlanta.

But reporting from AP, CNN, NBC and The Washington Post indicates that the messages actually referred to Smith attending the Iowa-Maryland game.

That substantially changes what the messages demonstrate.

They may provide evidence that Smith attended a basketball game.

They do not, based on the reporting available, establish that he was in Atlanta.

They also do not establish that Smith secretly met Willis or Wade.

What About the “No Records. No Trace.” Messages?

The graphic supplied with this story displays messages reading:

“We need to move now.”

“Agreed. Keep it quiet.”

“No records. No trace.”

Those messages are presented as though they were authentic communications from Smith's team.

However, the reporting from AP, CNN, NBC and The Washington Post describing the actual poster-board exchange does not substantiate those exact quotations. The news reports describe messages concerning Smith attending a basketball game, but they do not report the dramatic “Keep it quiet” or “No records. No trace” language shown in the graphic.

That distinction is important.

The graphic appears to be a dramatic reconstruction or editorialized social-media presentation, rather than a verified reproduction of the text messages shown during the hearing.

Likewise, the large “CLASSIFIED” stamp in the image should not be interpreted as evidence that the messages were officially classified government documents.

Did Schmitt Accuse Smith of Perjury?

Yes.

Schmitt repeatedly suggested that Smith's answers could amount to perjury and later said he believed Smith had already perjured himself.

After the hearing, however, Schmitt stopped short of declaring that Smith had actually committed the crime.

NBC News reported that when asked whether he still believed Smith had perjured himself, Schmitt said the question would ultimately be for a prosecutor to determine. He characterized his role as asking questions and obtaining answers.

That is different from establishing that perjury occurred.

For perjury, the government would have to establish the necessary legal elements, including that a person knowingly made a materially false statement under circumstances covered by the applicable law.

The hearing exchange itself did not establish that.

Why Was Atlanta Important?

The location was not incidental to Schmitt's argument.

At the time in question, Fani Willis was facing scrutiny over her relationship with Nathan Wade, who had worked as a special prosecutor in the Georgia election-interference case involving Donald Trump.

Schmitt appeared to be attempting to establish that Smith had been in Atlanta at the same time and potentially had contact with the Georgia prosecutors.

But Smith denied meeting Willis or Wade during his time as special counsel.

Once the basketball-game location became the subject of dispute, the foundation of that particular line of questioning became much weaker.

Klobuchar Challenges the Premise

Klobuchar's intervention became another major moment in the exchange.

After confirming the Iowa-Maryland game, she pointed out that the information presented by Schmitt appeared to confuse the two teams.

She criticized the use of the information to imply that Smith had been in another city and connected to events in Georgia.

The Washington Post reported that the incident quickly became viral, while AP described the exchange as a case in which Schmitt appeared to mistake basketball teams separated by hundreds of miles.

Schmitt did not issue an apology during the hearing.

Smith's Response

Smith remained relatively focused on the factual question.

He acknowledged that he had attended a basketball game around that time but said it was the Iowa-Maryland game.

He also recalled that U.S. Marshals had been with him and suggested that records could confirm his account.

That provided a concrete alternative to the Atlanta scenario Schmitt was presenting.

The Hearing Was About Much More Than Basketball

The basketball dispute occurred during a much broader Senate Judiciary Committee hearing concerning Smith's investigations of Trump.

Smith previously served as special counsel overseeing federal investigations involving Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his handling of classified documents.

Both federal cases were ultimately dismissed after Trump returned to the presidency.

At the September 29 hearing, Republicans questioned Smith about his investigative decisions, including subpoenas for phone records belonging to Republican lawmakers and others connected to Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 election.

Smith defended his conduct and said his investigations were conducted according to Justice Department rules. Reuters reported that Smith also said he would make the same prosecutorial decision regardless of whether the subject were a Republican or Democrat.

Why the “Text Message” Story Went Viral

The episode contained several elements that made it particularly suited to social media:

• A former special counsel testifying before Congress
• An allegation of possible perjury
• A senator presenting purported text-message evidence
• A reference to Fani Willis and the Trump election case
• A dramatic poster-board reveal
• Smith appearing confused by the allegation
• A subsequent discovery that the basketball teams may have been confused

The story was then amplified by political commentators.

The Washington Post reported that conservative commentators including Benny Johnson and Sean Hannity initially portrayed the exchange as evidence that Schmitt had caught Smith, but both later deleted their posts after the Hawks-Hawkeyes confusion became clear.

Was There a Broader “Cover-Up”?

The supplied graphic asks viewers what officials were “actually trying to cover up.”

The evidence available so far does not establish a cover-up.

There is a documented dispute over what Schmitt's displayed messages meant.

There is also evidence that Schmitt's interpretation of the basketball reference was incorrect.

But the available reporting does not demonstrate that officials secretly coordinated to conceal Smith's whereabouts, nor does it establish the dramatic “Keep it quiet” or “No records. No trace.” messages shown in the graphic.

That is an important distinction between what happened at the hearing and how the incident has subsequently been framed online.

The “Hawks vs. Hawkeyes” Question

The simplest explanation supported by the reporting is also the most consequential one:

Hawks and Hawkeyes are not the same team.

The Atlanta Hawks are an NBA franchise.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are a college sports program.

Smith's account places him at an Iowa women's basketball game in Maryland on February 3, 2024.

Klobuchar independently confirmed that Iowa played Maryland on that date.

The available reporting therefore supports the conclusion that Schmitt's Atlanta theory was based on a mistaken interpretation of the basketball reference.

What the Viral Image Gets Right — and What It Leaves Out

The graphic is built around a real event.

What is documented:

• Eric Schmitt questioned Jack Smith about his whereabouts in February 2024.
• Schmitt said he possessed text messages from Smith's team.
• A poster containing messages was briefly displayed.
• Schmitt connected the alleged Atlanta trip to Fani Willis and Nathan Wade.
• Smith denied attending an Atlanta Hawks game.
• Smith said he attended an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland instead.
• Amy Klobuchar confirmed the Iowa-Maryland game occurred on February 3, 2024.
• Schmitt suggested perjury had occurred but later left the ultimate determination to prosecutors.

What the available reporting does not establish:

• That the displayed messages were classified.
• That officials tried to hide the messages.
• That there was a secret “no records, no trace” operation.
• That Smith secretly met Fani Willis or Nathan Wade.
• That the messages prove Smith was in Atlanta.
• That the incident established criminal perjury.

The difference between those two lists is crucial.

The Bigger Story

The episode illustrates how a small piece of documentary evidence can become the centerpiece of a major political confrontation — and how quickly an interpretation can change when the underlying details are checked.

Schmitt entered the exchange apparently believing he had evidence placing Smith in Atlanta.

Smith denied that account.

The subsequent discussion established that Smith had indeed attended a basketball game, but the available evidence pointed to Iowa vs. Maryland rather than Atlanta vs. Golden State.

That does not resolve every controversy surrounding Smith's investigations. Those questions were the subject of the broader Senate hearing and remain politically contested.

But the particular “hidden text message” narrative in the supplied graphic goes beyond what the available evidence currently supports.

The most significant documented lesson from the exchange may therefore be much narrower: the alleged Atlanta “gotcha” hinged on a basketball-team mix-up that became apparent during the hearing itself.