Jack Smith is trending after the former U.S. special counsel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 29, 2026, to defend the investigations he led into Donald Trump. Smith oversaw two federal criminal cases involving Trump: one concerning efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and another concerning the retention of classified documents and other presidential records. Both cases ended after Trump returned to the presidency.
The hearing also produced an unexpected viral moment. Sen. Eric Schmitt questioned Smith about whether he attended an Atlanta Hawks basketball game in February 2024 and suggested the trip could have placed him in contact with former Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Smith said he had attended a University of Iowa women’s basketball game in Maryland instead. The exchange centered on a confusion between the Atlanta Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes.
Here is what happened at the hearing, why Eric Schmitt questioned Smith about basketball, what Smith said about his investigations, and what is known about his career and family.
Why Is Jack Smith Trending Today?
Jack Smith is trending because he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his investigations of Donald Trump. The September 29 hearing was part of a broader congressional examination of Smith’s work as special counsel and his team’s investigative methods.
Smith defended the decisions made by his office and said he stood by the prosecutions. He rejected accusations that his investigations were politically motivated and maintained that his team followed evidence and Justice Department procedures. Republicans on the committee challenged his handling of the investigations, including the collection of communications and financial information involving lawmakers and political organizations.
The hearing became especially prominent online because of the exchange between Smith and Eric Schmitt. What began as an attempt to question Smith’s account of his whereabouts in February 2024 turned into a dispute over whether Schmitt had confused two different basketball teams.
What Happened Between Jack Smith and Eric Schmitt?
Eric Schmitt questioned Jack Smith about whether he attended an Atlanta Hawks game on February 3, 2024, but Smith said he was actually at an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland. The distinction became central to one of the hearing’s most discussed exchanges.
Schmitt, a Republican senator from Missouri, questioned Smith about his whereabouts on the night of the NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors. Schmitt presented the issue as evidence that Smith might have been in Atlanta during a politically significant period and suggested that Smith’s testimony could be false.
Smith denied attending an Atlanta Hawks game and said he did not recall being in Atlanta in his capacity as special counsel. He then remembered attending a University of Maryland women’s basketball game against the University of Iowa in College Park, Maryland. Iowa’s team is known as the Hawkeyes.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar subsequently pointed out the distinction between the Hawks and the Hawkeyes. Schmitt’s office did not immediately provide the text messages he had cited during the exchange.
The incident quickly became one of the most widely reported moments of the hearing, although the Senate proceeding itself was focused on much broader questions about Smith’s investigations and the Justice Department.
Why Did Eric Schmitt Ask Jack Smith About a Basketball Game?
The basketball question was connected to a larger allegation about Smith’s activities during his investigation of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Schmitt’s questioning sought to place Smith in Atlanta at a time when Fani Willis, then the Fulton County district attorney, was facing scrutiny over her relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in her own Trump-related case.
Schmitt suggested that Smith’s presence at an Atlanta Hawks game could have been relevant to contacts involving the Georgia investigation. Smith denied the premise and said the basketball game he attended was in Maryland, not Atlanta.
The available reporting does not establish that Smith attended the Atlanta game described by Schmitt. Instead, AP and Roll Call reported that Smith identified the University of Iowa game in Maryland as the event he attended.
That distinction matters because the exchange involved an allegation about Smith’s credibility. The available reporting supports the location and team-name confusion, but it does not establish the broader implication that Smith secretly traveled to Atlanta to meet Willis.
What Did Jack Smith Say at the Senate Hearing?
Jack Smith defended his investigations and said he would have made the same prosecutorial decision regardless of the president’s political party. He told senators that his office’s decisions were based on evidence and law rather than political considerations.
Smith addressed both federal cases he supervised. One concerned Trump’s efforts to interfere with the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election. The other concerned Trump’s retention of classified documents and other presidential records after leaving office. Attorney General Merrick Garland had assigned Smith responsibility for the two investigations when he appointed him special counsel in November 2022.
Smith also defended his team’s collection of phone records involving members of Congress. He said the records were relevant to an investigation into whether Trump’s allies attempted to influence lawmakers during the certification of the 2020 election.
Republican senators challenged those actions and questioned whether Smith’s team properly handled congressional information, privileged material and other records. Smith maintained that his office took its obligations under the Speech or Debate Clause seriously.
The hearing therefore involved two competing accounts: Republican lawmakers argued that Smith’s team overstepped legal and constitutional limits, while Smith defended the investigative decisions and rejected claims of partisan motivation.
Why Are Republicans Investigating Jack Smith?
Republican lawmakers have been examining Smith’s investigative methods, including his team’s collection of congressional records and other information obtained during the Trump investigations. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley framed the September 29 proceeding as an oversight hearing into what he described as Smith’s abuse of authority and targeting of Republicans.
Grassley alleged that Smith’s team obtained information involving Republican lawmakers, donors and political organizations and raised questions about the handling of privileged congressional information. Those statements represent the committee chairman’s allegations and should not be treated as established findings simply because they were presented during the hearing.
Smith disputed the characterization of his work. During the hearing, he said his team followed the law and that its investigative decisions were connected to the criminal investigation it was conducting.
The disagreement is part of a broader congressional review that has continued after Smith left the Justice Department.
Why Was Jack Smith Referred to the Justice Department?
Jack Smith was referred to the Justice Department in July 2026 after House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan alleged that Smith had made misleading statements during congressional testimony. The referral concerned Smith’s answers about subpoenas and records obtained during the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The dispute involved the difference between toll records and the content of communications. Smith had been asked during December 2025 testimony whether subpoenas for lawmakers’ toll records included the content of phone calls or text messages. He answered no. Jordan later argued that separate records obtained by Smith’s team included the contents of text messages belonging to 44 lawmakers.
Smith’s lawyers disputed the allegation and said his answers were truthful because the questions had concerned specific toll-record subpoenas rather than the separate presidential-records subpoena at issue in Jordan’s referral.
A congressional criminal referral does not itself constitute a criminal charge or require the Justice Department to prosecute someone. As of the September 29 Senate hearing, no criminal charges had been filed against Smith over the allegations.
Who Is Jack Smith?
Jack Smith is a career prosecutor who served as the U.S. Justice Department’s special counsel from November 2022 until January 2025. His full name is John Luman Smith, and his legal career includes federal prosecution, public-corruption investigations and international war-crimes work.
Smith began his prosecutorial career in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 1994. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in 1999, where he handled cases including public corruption and civil-rights matters. He later became chief of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section.
Smith also worked internationally. He served with the International Criminal Court and later became chief prosecutor at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, where he investigated war-crimes allegations. He returned to the United States before being appointed special counsel by Garland in 2022.
His appointment placed him in charge of two existing federal investigations involving Trump. The position made Smith one of the most closely scrutinized federal prosecutors in the country.
What Cases Did Jack Smith Bring Against Donald Trump?
Jack Smith’s office brought two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump. One involved efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the certification of the Electoral College vote. The other concerned Trump’s retention of classified documents and other presidential records after leaving office.
The election case resulted in federal charges against Trump in August 2023. Smith’s January 2025 report later stated that his office had determined there was sufficient admissible evidence to obtain and sustain a conviction, although the case did not reach trial.
The classified-documents case resulted in a federal indictment in June 2023. A federal judge dismissed that case in July 2024 over the legal status of Smith’s appointment as special counsel. Smith’s office appealed before ultimately ending the prosecution after Trump’s 2024 election victory.
After Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Smith’s office moved to dismiss the remaining federal election case because Justice Department policy bars the federal prosecution of a sitting president. Smith resigned from the special counsel position in January 2025.
What Is Jack Smith Doing Now?
Jack Smith is no longer a Justice Department special counsel and is not currently prosecuting Donald Trump. Since leaving the department, he has continued to speak publicly about his career, the justice system and the role of prosecutors while remaining subject to congressional scrutiny over his former investigations.
On September 17, 2026, Smith appeared at Dartmouth for a public discussion about public service, prosecutorial independence and the rule of law. The event drew more than 200 people in person, with additional viewers watching online.
His appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 29 was therefore not a return to federal prosecution. It was congressional testimony concerning investigations he had previously led.
Who Is Jack Smith’s Wife?
Jack Smith is married to documentary filmmaker Katy Chevigny. The couple married in 2011 and have a daughter. Chevigny has worked as a director and producer and was a producer on the 2020 documentary Becoming, about Michelle Obama.
Chevigny’s professional work and political donations became a subject of public discussion after Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022. The Washington Post reported that she donated to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign and had made a contribution to Rashida Tlaib. Those activities were cited by Smith’s critics as evidence of potential political bias, while federal law does not generally prohibit the spouse of a federal prosecutor from engaging in political activity.
Smith’s own investigative decisions cannot be established from his wife’s political activity alone. The Justice Department appointed him as special counsel in 2022, and the department’s appointment announcement described him as a career prosecutor with experience in domestic and international investigations.
Does Jack Smith Have Children?
Yes. Jack Smith and Katy Chevigny have one daughter, Josie. The Washington Post identified Josie as their daughter in its 2023 profile of Smith.
Smith has generally kept his family life outside the center of his public career. His professional biography and congressional appearances have focused primarily on his prosecutorial work rather than his family.
Jack Smith’s Career at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | John Luman Smith |
| Known as | Jack Smith |
| Profession | Attorney and former federal prosecutor |
| Best known for | Former DOJ special counsel overseeing Trump investigations |
| Special counsel appointment | November 18, 2022 |
| Special counsel resignation | January 10, 2025 |
| Appointed by | Attorney General Merrick Garland |
| Education | State University of New York at Oneonta; Harvard Law School |
| Former DOJ role | Chief, Public Integrity Section |
| International role | Chief prosecutor, Kosovo Specialist Chambers |
| Former wife | None publicly identified |
| Wife | Katy Chevigny |
| Children | One daughter |
| Current status | Former special counsel |
| Current legal status | No criminal charges publicly filed against him as of September 29, 2026 |
Smith’s career before the Trump investigations included nearly three decades of prosecution. His work in the Justice Department, International Criminal Court and Kosovo Specialist Chambers preceded his appointment as special counsel.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jack Smith
Why is Jack Smith trending?
Jack Smith is trending after appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 29, 2026, to defend his former investigations of Donald Trump. The hearing also drew attention because of a disputed basketball-game question from Sen. Eric Schmitt.
What happened between Jack Smith and Eric Schmitt?
Eric Schmitt questioned Smith about an Atlanta Hawks game, but Smith said he had attended an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland. The exchange became a major moment of the Senate hearing after the two teams were apparently confused.
Did Jack Smith attend an Atlanta Hawks game in 2024?
Smith said he did not attend the Atlanta Hawks game referenced by Schmitt. He said he attended a University of Iowa women’s basketball game against Maryland in College Park, Maryland, on February 3, 2024.
What cases did Jack Smith investigate?
Smith supervised federal investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents and other presidential records. Both federal cases ended before trial after Trump returned to the presidency.
Is Jack Smith still a special counsel?
No. Jack Smith resigned as special counsel in January 2025. He is now a former special counsel and has continued to appear publicly and before Congress regarding his former work.
Was Jack Smith charged with a crime?
No criminal charge against Jack Smith had been publicly filed as of September 29, 2026. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan referred Smith to the Justice Department in July over allegations concerning his congressional testimony, but a referral is not itself a criminal charge.
Who is Jack Smith’s wife?
Jack Smith’s wife is documentary filmmaker Katy Chevigny. They married in 2011 and have one daughter.
What is Jack Smith doing now?
Jack Smith is a former federal prosecutor who now participates in public discussions and congressional proceedings concerning his former work. He appeared at Dartmouth on September 17, 2026, and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 29.
