'You Are Calling A Witness A Dirtbag!': Amy Klobuchar Spars With Eric Schmitt At Jack Smith Hearing

[0:00] Mr. Chairman, then you're going to be able to allow the witness to see this fast poster board [0:06] that we saw? Is that going to be included then so the witness can look at that at some point here [0:12] before the hearing's over? Because we couldn't see what it said. And I'm a former prosecutor too, [0:18] and I have never seen anyone just say, what do you think of this, and put it down. We need a copy [0:28] of the actual text. Can you give the witness the courtesy of giving him a copy of that? Thank you. [0:41] Can the witness be allowed to comment now that he can see the chart? [0:49] Should we maybe give him the chance to look at it and then go back at it so he can see it? [0:53] I think I can address it. Goldie, you're right. [0:54] Okay, do you want to, this isn't in my time, but yes, Mr. Smith, please address it. [0:58] Just very briefly, if this is the correct basketball game, [1:04] I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing [1:11] right around that time, and the marshal service was there with me. You could check if that was [1:17] the exact date. It was Maryland playing Iowa, I think February of 2024, but again, that's, [1:25] you could check that out if that's what we're talking about. Yes. [1:30] Could it then be that University of Iowa's the Hawkeyes? Could that be it? And maybe before we show [1:39] this kind of thing, I know, but if he was at an Iowa game, is that correct? [1:46] It was because Caitlin Clark was coming to Maryland to play. [1:50] I know, but that might be the confusion over the names of the team, but perhaps you should [1:55] have looked at it more carefully. Who's questioning is this, by the way, Mr. Chairman? [1:59] Are you using your time, Senator? Is this what this is? Are we just having like an open session here? [2:05] Questions? I just, I'm just in shock. Well, I'm glad you're trying to rehabilitate the witness, [2:09] but it's not your time. When you are calling a witness a dirt bag? [2:11] I presented him with text messages about him wanting to meet with people [2:16] that could have obviously been related to the prosecution that was coordinated with his office [2:22] in Atlanta. Okay, well, I'm going to begin my questions now, but I think that people should [2:26] have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirt bag and not get the teams wrong. [2:31] I stand by that statement. Klobuchar has the floor. Proceed with your questions. [2:40] Thank you. From the state of Minnesota, where we have the Gophers, so there's not a lot of [2:44] confusion. There's not a lot of professional teams with those names. Mr. Chairman, many of us in this [2:50] room were here on January 6th, one of the hardest days our democracy has faced. Insurrectionists tried [2:59] to overrun this Capitol and overturn an election. They assaulted our heroic Capitol police officers [3:08] and attacked not only the Capitol, but American democracy itself. As incoming chair of the Senate [3:17] Rules Committee, it was my job with Senator Blunt to ensure that the electoral ballots were counted. [3:22] That morning began with pomp and circumstance. Senator Blunt, Vice President Pence, [3:28] and I led a train of senators from the Senate to the House to start this ceremony. Three pairs of young [3:36] women held the mahogany boxes with the electoral ballots for the entire country. And then came the [3:44] insurrection. Capitol police were attacked, pepper sprayed, clubbed, and trampled. I remember senators [3:53] gathered in a room trying to call the National Guard to see if anyone would help. And I will always [4:00] remember the second walk. And that was when all the senators had been sent home, except for Senator [4:07] Blunt and myself. That walk with Vice President Pence, who of course had been threatened to be hung at the [4:14] time. Many people had told him to leave the Capitol, but he stayed. Vice President Pence and Senator [4:20] Blunt and I made that walk again with the same three pairs of young women holding the mahogany boxes with the [4:27] electoral ballots that were in those boxes only because someone had the presence of mind to secure those boxes. [4:36] But this time, the walk wasn't a pageantry. We were walking over broken glass. We were walking over marble pillars [4:45] spray painted with vulgarities. But we did our jobs. And we made clear to the world before the sun came up. And that [4:55] was our goal that democracy prevailed. Since then, the president has repeatedly tried to rewrite the story of what [5:04] happened that day. He wants us to forget that he tried to overturn the will of the American voters. He wants us to [5:11] forget that his supporters tried to carry out an insurrection where Capitol police officers were [5:17] assaulted. Tragically, five brave officers who reported for duty that day ultimately passed away. And the [5:24] president and his allies have repeatedly attacked the heroes who defended us that day. He called January 6th a day of [5:33] love. He has pardoned more than 1500 criminals who attacked the Capitol, described the prosecutions of those who [5:40] attack law enforcement as a grave national injustice, and even set up a fund to use taxpayer dollars to pay those [5:47] convicted of crimes. He and his allies have tried to discredit the investigation into these events and smear the [5:55] people who worked to hold him accountable. As President Trump continues to spread falsehoods about the 2020 election and [6:04] is trying to undermine our democracy ahead of the 2026 elections, I am grateful that you are with us [6:11] today, Mr. Smith, to set the record straight. So I will begin with these questions. [6:17] Through the evidence you obtained, can you describe the threats that law enforcement faced that day? [6:24] On January 6th, law enforcement officers who sought to protect the people in the Capitol were brutally assaulted. [6:38] Over 140 officers were assaulted. They were assaulted with weapons. As you mentioned, some of them [6:46] lost their lives. These are people, in my view, who we do not thank enough. And that the fact that [6:54] people are forgetting what happened that day and the sacrifices and the courage these people showed to [7:00] protect people and this institution, I find that troubling. I will never forget their sacrifice. [7:07] Thank you. You previously wrote this about the investigators and prosecutors who worked for [7:17] your office as you investigated what happened. You said they are people of great decency and the highest [7:24] personal integrity. The intense public scrutiny of our office, threats to their safety, and [7:31] relentless unfounded attacks on their character and integrity did not deter them from fulfilling their [7:37] oaths and professional obligations. What do you want the American people to know about the public [7:43] servants who worked with and the work they were doing for the American people? [7:47] These were good and decent people. These were people who devoted their lives to working for their communities, [7:58] working for our country. They were much like the agents and prosecutors and staff that I worked with [8:05] throughout my career as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice. It's the privilege and honor of my life to work with [8:13] people like that. Many of these people, in addition to their work with me as a prosecutor, have served in other [8:21] branches of our government. People who served in the military and literally put their lives on the line for our [8:28] country. FBI agents who have stood to protect our national security. My view, these people are heroes and I [8:38] believe our country does not recognize and pay enough attention to people like that. I think if we did, the [8:45] partisan things that we're discussing today, a lot of that would go away. [8:52] Thank you. The Trump administration has fired career prosecutors and agents who worked on matters involving [9:00] President Trump and the January 6 attack. We heard from one of those fired prosecutors who couldn't hold back the [9:07] tears when describing how she had evaluated over 1,500 cases, examining each one based on the law and the [9:14] evidence to determine if charges should be brought. And the Trump administration fired her simply for [9:20] doing her job. One of the things that really bothered me about this as having run a prosecutor's office with [9:27] 400 employees is just sometimes how you are assigned to a case is just serendipity. You're a new person. You get assigned [9:35] to a team. You're on a case. You are a more experienced person and you have a certain skills. You're assigned [9:42] to a case. Is it true that they don't often choose which cases they're assigned to, Mr. Smith? [9:48] It is true and it's also true that I think you may have had the same experience. These are not people who [9:55] toot their own horn. These are not people who are seeking self-promotion. They're people who get satisfaction out of [10:01] doing their work and doing it on behalf of the American people. And how does firing career prosecutors [10:07] and agents just because they worked on January 6th cases weaken public safety and send the wrong message [10:14] to law enforcement? It weakens public safety in a number of respects. If you fire people who have the [10:21] expertise to conduct investigations properly and to represent the United States in court properly, you are [10:28] making our country less safe. If you drive those people out of public service, the institutions we rely on for [10:38] justice, for protecting our country, those institutions are weakened. We have seen this with courts across the country [10:46] losing credibility in the department because the department is no longer credible in their eyes. [10:53] Thank you. Isn't it true that immediately following the tweet where the president put intense pressure on [11:07] Vice President Pence telling him that hundreds of thousands of people would hate his guts, and then he tweeted, [11:13] leading up to this, he said this, Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done. Isn't it true [11:20] that immediately following that tweet, Pence's Secret Service detail was forced to evacuate the Vice President? [11:27] My recollection is that those two things were very close in time, and our view was that that conduct endangered the [11:39] Vice President, and it also provided further evidence of the President's criminal intent to obstruct the [11:50] certification procedure and have his supporters who were attacking the Capitol continue to obstruct it. [11:56] Thank you. And I wanted to end with this, Mr. Chairman, since it involves your state. We have confirmed that, in [12:03] fact, you were right, Mr. Smith, Iowa, the Iowa Hawkeyes, played Maryland on February 3rd, 2024. The final score was [12:15] 93 to 85, Iowa won, and Caitlin Clark scored over, scored 30 points. So it must have been a pretty good game. The game was, in [12:25] fact, in Maryland, Mr. Smith. And I would just say for a U.S. Senator to have false information and imply based on a [12:33] confusion about the name of a team, which I knew, knowing my Midwestern sports, and imply that you were in [12:39] another city, that you were somehow involved that day in what was happening in Georgia, and then call you a [12:46] dirtbag is something that deserves an apology. Thank you, Mr. Smith. [12:51] Before I call on Senator Britt, before that, I will, without objection, I'll enter into the record a statement from [13:01] Senator Blackburn. I appreciate that, Senator, chairing the subcommittee hearing on Arctic Frost as part of this. [13:08] . [13:13] . [13:17] . 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